


𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

by nocturneworld6



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Slow Burn, i deleted my work and had to repost this, lol don't do that he's a piece of shit, please give ayato some love in this, this time no mistakes, treat this like the third season
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:06:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 46,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26083159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturneworld6/pseuds/nocturneworld6
Summary: A mystery brews in the Sakamaki mansion.The human girl with the demon heart is Eve.There can be only one Adam.And bloodshed would follow, as Yui is torn between the decision of love and her own freedom.[Previously Diabolik Lovers: Lost Eden]
Relationships: Komori Yui & Mukami Ruki, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Ayato
Comments: 34
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Due to a previous corrupted file and loads of technical issues, I had to delete my previous work and post a new one. This work is almost complete by the time I type this. Also, someone told me that technically Dark Fate comes before Lost Eden, so... Take what you want from this. This is a continuation of the anime after season two finale, I hope you enjoy.

Fear is unknown to vampires. What the mortals feel the goosebumps on their skin, the thumping of their hearts, the stillness of their bodies. But that night of the eclipse, the vampires of the Sakamaki household felt fear for the first time. Each one of them felt an unspeakable fear settle inside their chests. The blood moon stood imposing in the inky black night sky, slowly being devoured by the shadow of the earth. The hue of the moon reminded all of them of a certain girl, now hiding in a corner of the mansion, with bated breaths as each one of them scoured everywhere for her. And the dread that she felt was not so different from what they felt in their long-dead hearts.

Ayato sat down in front of the steps of the winding staircase, humming to himself. His tie still torn from the struggle with the wolves. His hair messed up. The lapel on his shirt torn. Tch, he thought, What a horrible night.

Well, his dishevelled appearance aside, he felt a sense of relief as his Yui was back. He was too possessive about her, and this time, he swore he wouldn't let that bastard Ruki drink her blood. Hell, he would claim her as his. Yui seemed to forget every time that she was his. This time, there would be no mistakes. He would not allow any room for excuses. There was an unfamiliar sense of insecurity, that stemmed from the fact that he had to share his Chichinashi with five of his brothers. He could deal with Laito now and then, he just didn't like how all the others were capable of snapping her neck on the most trivial of things.

"Ayato?" Reiji called out, and Ayato felt a heavy feeling settle in his stomach. What? He was already thirsty? He rubbed his throat and coughed a little. Maybe because of this Eve thing. He didn't believe in that old wives' tale, but after witnessing the effects of Yui's blood after the kidnapping, he started to believe some of it. He winced when he remembered what had happened to him when she was gone. He had instructed everyone not to talk about it, but in hushed voices, sometimes he had heard Laito talk about it. There were the Mukamis, in their mansion, sitting with rapt attention to uncovering why Ayato bothered to rush the sacrificial bride out of their house.

"Reiji," Ayato said, looking up at the bespectacled boy, "Where's Chichinashi?"

"Sleeping," Reiji said, obviously lying, and held out a vial of blood for Ayato. He'd also gotten his fair share of distress from messing with the wolves of those Tsukinami bastards. His spectacles were resting on his nose at an awkward angle. The new blood staining his shirt meant that he'd been preying on Chichinashi. Ayato felt a bitter taste in his mouth, as he pushed his hurt ego aside. Ayato reached out and examined. "What is this?"

"Something I believe will restrain your thirst for now," he said and adjusted his spectacles. "The eclipse will be starting soon. Try not to contest into another wolf, please." Contrary to what Ayato thought, Reiji did have a sense of humour, although it was so dry Ayato could never comprehend it. Growing up in the same household with different mothers, they had never been close to begin with, but Reiji's role as the head of the house made sure he was aware of each of his brother's likes and dislikes, needs and wants, desires and despises.

"Okay," Ayato said, rolling his eyes, not understanding why Reiji was being so concerned about him. He didn't hate Reiji, but he certainly wasn't so chummy with him. Reiji was too uptight and proud to consider people his friends. He was perhaps closer to the other kids than to his blood brother Shu, but that was because of jealousy. Was Ayato jealous of the other triplets? He wasn't sure. Kanato and Laito had their own issues to deal with. Unlike Reiji's mother, Cordelia insisted on showering her attention equally on the three of his children. Although the way she gave them attention was far more traumatising than what Beatrix could ever do.

A moment of silence passed before Reiji spoke up. "You didn't mock me using that outlandish nickname," he noted. Was that really Reiji? He wasn't the type to bother about such petty things. That stuck up bastard always thought of the triplets as less than able, pitiful creatures. He never voiced that opinion though. If you thought about it, Reiji was the only peacekeeper in the house, otherwise, everybody would be at each other’s throats all the time.

"I'm not in the mood today."

Reiji huffed. "Doesn't matter. Please make your presence at the dinner table at ten o'clock." Dinner, huh. Did he really mean those stupid, formal, nightly dinners they had or one that involved the sacrificial bride strapped on the table, as each brother took turns to feed from her? He didn't like sharing his blood bag, but he sure liked it when his Chichinashi screamed at the top of her voice. Maybe he would just scare her a bit and suck her blood. He wouldn't want to terrify her so much that she'd never invite him to suck her blood.

Ayato's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you fixed the house."

Reiji smiled proudly.

Ayato smirked. "What do you expect from the tableware otaku?"

He saw Reiji visibly flinch. "Convey the message to Kanato and Laito as well."

"Yessir." Ayato stood up, looking at the blood-red moon. As Reiji left, Ayato clutched the vial in his hand, squeezing it hard. He wanted blood. And he only craved for Yui. Why settle for some measly concocted blood replacement when you had the real deal: the one that screamed and shouted to your heart's desire as you twisted her hand or wrung her ankle. It had been such a long time without her blood, he just wanted a peaceful feeding, nothing, he strolled up the stairway, humming in a conspiratorial tone, "Chichinashi, Chichinashi, where are you?"

* * *

Shu slept on the couch as Ayato walked up the stairs leisurely, and a warm aroma wafted in. Must be one of Reiji’s concoctions. Shu sighed and tossed over, his sweater slipping up and uncovering his abdomen. He sighed again as he reached out to cover it back again. The moon shined in from the skylight above him, bathing the entire entrance hall in a pale white light. The chairs, lounges, and dinner table were still in shreds and pieces, as they had been after the wolves attacked them. Shu generally didn’t care much, but the only thing left to sleep on in the house was this couch, somehow shielded from the Founder’s minion’s wrath.

“Would you just stand up and do something?” Subaru’s annoyed voice boomed in the hall, and Shu blocked him with the pillow. He needed some alone time to think, as well as to regain his strength. Knowing that those scoundrels were going to attempt to attack them yet again, he didn’t want to lose precious time on Subaru and whatever hateful argument he might have. “Keep it down, I’m trying to sleep,” Shu said in his usual sleepy tone.

“Argh!” Subaru punched something, and Shu barely opened his eyes. In the darkness, the fair-haired boy stood right beside the staircase, a crack now marred across the last two steps. Subaru needed to chill sometimes, Shu contemplated, before tossing back, resting an arm against the back of his head and shifting a bit into a comfortable position. The couch was barely pleasant for Shu’s taste. He thought of climbing up the stairs to go to his room, sleeping in his snug and cosy coffin was not a bad idea. The problem was, he had to waste his energy on climbing the stairs, and he sure as hell wouldn’t do that in such a state.

“What?” Shu yawned, and Subaru growled at him. “What kind of a lowlife are you?” He stepped closer to the sleepyhead and came face to face with him. “Have you ever bothered to open your eyes and wake up? Those Mukamis took our sacrificial bride. Those Tsukinami bastards dared to attack us. Are you just going to let that slide away?”

“I’m too tired.” Would his little brothers ever let him die in peace? Even after pushing all the household duties to Shu, all these little mongrels would come to Shu to bother him out of his zone. He didn’t care about the sacrificial bride, he barely cared about his brothers, he wouldn’t push himself out of his limits just to prove a point to the Mukamis. Those half-bloods were way beneath his existence, and he didn’t wonder about what pissed them and what made them angry.

“You’re always tired, Shu.” Subaru spat on the ground. “If you could just bother to move a muscle then we might have killed the wolves.”

“And what would that have accomplished?” Shu said, shutting his eyes. “Don’t tell me you want to protect that woman.” Shu knew he was pushing Subaru’s buttons to get a reaction out of him. Subaru was perhaps the only one who got attached to the brides, and at certain times helped them escape this hellhole of a house. Not that it would do any good to them, they would just be snapped into half as they tried to escape or maybe sucked to death, if they were that unfortunate. Recently, Subaru just stopped giving a shit about those measly, fragile mortals, hiding his real emotions beneath that rage and anger that he always used as a shield to protect his own fragile ego.

Subaru snapped. “What?” He grabbed Shu by the collar and lifted him up. “The fuck do you mean by that?”

Shu smiled, and replied in a sassy tone, “That Yui, you’ve grown to like her, haven’t you?”

Subaru’s eyes glinted with violence. “You bastard-“ He aimed his fist at Shu’s eye.

“Hey, Subaru-kun!” Kanato came running and Subaru promptly dropped Shu right on his face. Shu successfully avoided the fall by outstretching both his arms to support himself. He whipped his head to look at the red-haired boy, his hands clenching into fists, as he pushed his anger away, ready to listen to what new trouble one of the triplets had run into. Laito was missing his hat and fur jacket, leaving him in a white buttoned-up shirt. At least he had the decency to close his buttons up, not leaving the shirt open till his belly button like Ayato. Shu shook his head, not believing he was judging his half-brother based on his fashion choices.

“Kanato-kun is having an anger fit again!” Laito explained, his fedora almost dropping from his head. “And I can’t find Teddy!”

Shu chuckled. “That toy of his was burned down by one of those half-bloods.” It was a big deal in the mansion. Kanato was volatile to begin with, but he was turning more and more unpredictable by the moment without his stupid toy beside him. Frequently engaging in violent outbursts, Kanato was becoming more of the hysterical bastard than he already was.

Shu shook his head. “Shu san! Please sing Kanato-kun a lullaby! Maybe he will calm down after listening to your soothing voice.”

Shu raised an eyebrow.

“Whatever, I don’t want to be caught up in a mess when Kanato arrives.” Subaru pulled up his sleeves and bolted for the door. Shu laughed in mirth as he saw the hothead rush out of the mansion, possibly for the tower where they kept his insane mother. He felt a pang of guilt inside him as he was reminded of the still-alive mother of the unfortunate child.

“Wait! Subaru kun~” Laito ran after the boy, disappearing into the mist outside.

Shu sighed and closed his eyes again.

“I WANT YUI SAN RIGHT NOW!” Kanato stormed into the hall. “YOU IDIOTS HAVE NO RIGHT TO STEAL HER AWAY FROM ME! I WANT HER TO TAKE TEDDY’S PLACE!”

Shu noticed the hysteric child’s tantrum and dared to move a muscle to make himself comfortable.

“SHU!” Kanato screamed at him. “WHERE IS YUI SAN!”

Shu opened his eyes to a slit. “How would I know?” He sat up on the sofa and saw the anger slowly boil inside Kanato’s veins. “Oh well, have you heard that Reiji is trying to bring your teddy back?”

Kanato seemed to light up at that. “Really?” Kanato, like any other emotionally abused child, had tied his comfort into his little toy. It made him sad to witness Kanato’s suffering, especially when he looked and acted like a spoilt child, throwing tantrums and escalating his problems and demands day by day. Had they been brought up in a different setting, had they been from a different background, Shu could almost see himself caring for his strange half-brother. Kanato’s behaviour wasn’t very different from his when they were kids, though. He was the same demanding, spoilt child as he saw Kanato as. Though their fates and personalities bifurcated when they grew up, he still felt a bit of a connection towards his little brother, in whatever way his vampire brain could form bonds with others,

“Yeah,” Shu motioned him to sit down beside him. Kanato slowly slumped on the sofa. “You know, Reiji is supposed to keep it a secret, as if Father gets to know about this, he’d be furious. You know how he gets when you act according to your wishes.”

Kanato fumed at once, remembering the one time Karl Heinz took away all his sweets because ‘it was too childish to keep eating junk’. “Yeah.”

“So if you keep quiet and let Reiji work in silence, you might get your teddy soon.”

Kanato beamed with happiness. “I must go right away and thank Reiji.” Shu knew where that childlike innocence of Kanato might lead him into. Even though it would be Kanato making demands, Shu would be at the other end of the stick, getting all the blame for encouraging his half-brother’s fantasies and mollycoddling him into being a wuss. He knew Reiji would leave no stone unturned before he made Shu feel guilty for even existing.

Shu shook his head. “What did I tell you?” He tapped his ear. “Keep it down and don’t interrupt him.”

Kanato seemed to understand that. “Oh, okay. I would wait for Reiji to make me Teddy once again.”

Kanato strolled off, and Shu blew out another sigh. “And they say I’m incapable of keeping the house under control.”

* * *

Yui closed the cupboard and waited for the angry voice of Kanato to stop. It was too dark, and she couldn't see a thing, but she was very well aware of the presence of the brothers down in the hallway.

Soon Kanato will come and either try to suck my blood or to kill me.

Something in the shadows moved across the kitchen, but she didn't bother. The vampires didn't move at a pace she could actually see. Unless they wanted to make her aware of their presence, she wouldn't know if it was them. She winced as Ayato's bite marks stung, making her want to itch. She didn't want to scratch that already bruised skin. All of them had already had their fill of her blood. She didn't want to scratch the wounds to let the scent of her blood leak out. There had been enough bloodshed for her, and she wanted to minimise it as far as possible. Whatever little faith was buried inside her, hated to see the brothers hurt. Human or not, they were still living beings... or rather, they were creatures, who didn't have much of a choice in what they had to survive upon. By their cruel fate, it was, unfortunately, blood. And she wasn't going to blame them for it.

Suddenly, the cupboard flew open, and right in front of her stood a red-haired boy with a devilish smile. "Chichinashi!" Ayato's heavy voice boomed inside the kitchen. He appeared to be extremely jolly, considering what had happened in the forest. He had tried to superimpose his bite marks over Ruki's, erasing all evidence of his so-called rival biting into his so-called property. "I finally found you!"

Yui gasped as she was pulled out of the cupboards, and made to stand up. Yui was not somebody's property. Her father had very clearly told her in the wee years of her childhood that one person cannot own another. It is not healthy and is certainly a path to sin. But then again, these were literal monsters, and she was barely a teen. She meant nothing to them more than being a vessel of blood. "You have no idea how I searched the whole house for you Chichinashi."

Yui hung her head, dreading where the conversation might lead her to. It might end in a bloodbath. Ayato had been impossibly kinder to her as she was brought back to the house, even though he had sucked her blood in the middle of her rescue. She was hoping against hope that he might finally feel empathetic towards her, maybe at least feel sympathy while he was at it. But Ayato was not particularly known for being generous. The most pitiful Ayato had ever gotten was when he saved Yui from the dark clutches of his own mother, who had made her body her own place to haunt as Yui possessed her heart. How long would it be before he lets her out of her pitiable existence? "I'm sorry, Ayato kun."

Ayato pushed her into the wall. "Now that you've made me work so hard, I want to suck your blood."

There. Game over.

She tried to be as still as ever as the vampire brought his jaws down on her, but a bright idea came to her mind. "Wait, Ayato kun!"

"Tch, Chichinashi," Ayato said, "It's annoying when you interrupt me while I'm feeding." There it was, his massive ego, refusing to be disturbed while sucking the life out of a person, Yui thought in distaste. How could she sympathise and think that he didn't deserve a life of sanguine parasitism when he never bothered to be gentle or care about her feelings and emotions in the first place?

"But Ayato kun," Yui tried to work up in her defences, "You remember how you said that day that my blood tastes best at the break of dawn?"

Ayato removed his mouth from her neck. "What do you mean?"

"Ayato kun is such a capable person," she said, trying to sound as convincing as she could. "I believe he is capable enough to become the heir to this house and this lineage."

Ayato stared into her eyes, his feline eyes trying to understand her actions. She doubted he'd take her words seriously, but what wasn't worth taking a shot?

"Imagine, how bad Ayato kun would look in front of everyone when they get to know that he had a less than satisfying meal." She trailed her fingers across Ayato's face. "I do not want Ayato sama to have anything less than a magnificent feeding."

Ayato seemed to consider this for a moment. Suddenly, he pushed her into the wall, and pain erupted in her shoulder. "You playing games with me, Chichinashi?"

Panic crept up in Yui's chest, but she tried to keep it under control. "No, besides, what do I have to gain from it? If not you, I have five other brothers to run away from. Not to mention Ruki kun and his family." She carefully racked through her brain to come up with a better solution. She really needed to sound convincing, or else Ayato might not waste time in sucking her up. "Imagine, my blood leaking out and attracting your brothers right after you've enjoyed your meal." At the mention of his brothers, he seemed to get a bit uncomfortable. He'd never acted like that before, what had happened between the short time frame while she was hiding? Ayato broke the eye contact. He seemed to be repulsed by anybody touching his prey. "No, that won't happen."

"Maybe the Mukami brothers will come and take me away," she spoke in a convincing, trembling voice. "They're right here in the mansion, remember? They'll come and snatch me away from you, Ayato sama."

Ayato flinched. Yui didn't know what had happened within the house while she was away, but she had no doubt that it had at least some effect on him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed to her aid. Still, the glaring question arose in her mind, as she felt hands squeezing her heart, the ache was so unbearable that she refused to entertain the possibility. Why hadn't he come sooner? It's not like he couldn't. He was undoubtedly more powerful than the half-blooded Mukamis. Why wait till the kidnappers refused to let her out of her dingy prison, fed on her day in, day out, and underfed her till she was feeling her ribs poke from her skin?

"Okay," Ayato said, gritting his teeth. "It's still time for the daybreak. But as soon as the dawn comes, you have to come and feed me. In my room. If you don't, I'll come for you myself and feed off you, making sure to make it hurt ten times more."

Yui nodded. "Yessir."

He dropped Yui on the ground, and she shrieked, but fortunately wasn't hurt. As he walked out of the kitchen, he wondered how the girl who never once tried to fight back when he tried to have his way with her outwitted him into not hurting her. Yui sighed in relief, and said, "I know, Ayato kun, you're in pain," she pressed her fingers over the bite marks he had gifted her as a reunion present. "But it's much more than my blood now, and I don't want to mess up everything again." She didn't know whether to believe it or not, but Yui had been significantly changed in the company of Mukamis. They were crueller than the Sakamakis and this was how she had tried to put off them from drinking her blood until she had been chained up and left alone to be fed on and to be used as whatever the Mukami brothers thought her to be. She felt tears roll down her cheeks. "I can never be the same again." She sobbed.


	2. Chapter 2

Kanato kicked open Reiji's study, clutching his right shoulder as he witnessed the whole arrangement of racks and stacks and piles and mountains of books: SO HUGE! Teddy always liked to read whenever he had the chance. The thought of Teddy brought him on the verge of tears. That Azuza was going to have a painfully slow death. How dare he touch Kanato's prized possession? His mother might not be a part of Teddy anymore, but still, Teddy was the only play mate he ever had. Kanato stared at the bookshelves and blew out a sigh.

"I suppose you don't like to study here, do you?" Reiji said, his voice booming in the study.

"Shu told me not to disturb you, but I couldn't help it," Kanato confessed, and sat down on Reiji's arm chair.

Reiji was obviously not pleased. "How dare you say that name in front of me? And who told you can sit here?"

Kanato was infuriated. "I can sit anywhere I want, and you still aren't allowed to lecture me!" He screamed. "Gosh, nobody shouts at me like that."

Seeing Kanato throw that tantrum, Reiji cooled down. Adjusting his glasses, he asked quietly, "What do you want, Kanato?"

"I want you to quickly reassemble Teddy into his form."

Reiji was taken aback. "Who told you-"

"It doesn't matter who told me," Kanato ordered him, "I want Teddy back. If you don't, I shall take Yui san and turn her into a teddy. How nice she would look with buttons for eyes and fluffy hairy skin!" Kanato raised an eyebrow as if to confirm Reiji's concern for Yui.

"For Lord's sake, Kanato, we are not supposed to touch her until the Founders are dealt with." He paused to look at his pocket watch. "It's still a lot of time to go for dawn, and the eclipse won't be over soon yet. Most importantly it's not that human girl I'm concerned about."

"Then what is it?" Kanato asked in his child like curious voice.

"It's-" Reiji started but was cut off by Ayato who stormed into the room.

"Ayato," Reiji said, looking at his distressed appearance. "Why are you so furious?"

"I don't care to explain myself, you idiot!" Ayato thundered at Reiji.

"For all I know you are not allowed to talk to me like that."

"Well guess what? You might be wrong, you asshole." Ayato was fuming, and suddenly started coughing.

"Stop shouting, or else I will make sure you regret it," Kanato warned, but Ayato collapsed on the floor, ending up in a coughing fit.

Reiji did not bother himself with his sick brother. "Anyway, I would like you to leave the study at once."

Ayato choked on something, and that was when things got serious.

"I think he's really sick," Kanato said, his voice sounding somewhat concerned.

Reiji slit his eyes and picked his brother up with one of his hands. "Ayato, didn't you have the medicine I gave to you?"

Ayato wiped the drool off his face. "Tch, I would never have any stupid chemical that you substitute for blood."

Reiji's eyes flew open. "YOU IDIOT!" He rushed towards the shelves and retrieved a syringe. The tension in the air thickened as Ayato spat out blood.

"Why is he suddenly so sour and having coughing fits?"

Reiji loaded the syringe with a liquid, and injected it into Ayato's arm. "Ayato is severely affected with the eclipse. I don't know why but his cravings were always greater than the rest of us, and since I always thought it was due to Cordelia's genes, I never had too much interest into that."

Ayato seemed to feel groggy, and his eyes started drooping shut.

"Why aren't Laito and me affected?" Kanato asked, seeing Ayato slump down against the floor.

"That is why I'm so frustrated. Why did Ayato make demands of getting Yui back even though everybody else was content without her."

"Subaru was furious," Kanato reasoned, but Reiji shook his head.

"Ayato noticed it the day she stopped coming to school. It was so sudden that nobody bothered much but he was affected the most." Reiji looked at his brother in shame. "If such a weakling is really the offspring of the Vampire King, I have no faith in this world."

* * *

Sakamaki Subaru had the worst family in the world.

He had tried numerous times to cure his mother from the deadly insanity she carried inside of her. How his father had slowly tormented his own sister, raped her and humiliated her for bearing Subaru. How he had never known a thing as mother's love, how he yearned for a silent sleep in his mother's arms.

When his mother threw tantrums and went on a crazy rampage, Subaru was the one to calm her down. He was also the one to enrage her because of his extreme likeness with Karl Heinz, his lavender hair and pink eyes matching that of his father's. Christa would always yell at him and call him Onii sama. She would proceed to call him names. Monster, abomination, the curse her brother threw upon her.

He sat still over the window as he watched the tower where his mother was being kept captive. They said it was because she was mentally unstable, but only he knew the real purpose.

Perhaps Christa was the only mother that could actually care for a Sakamaki as one. Thus, caging her up into the tower would ensure that Subaru would be deprived of his mother's love as his brothers had been.

He felt warm arms slide around him, and even though he knew it wasn't normal, he leaned into her embrace. A sigh escaped his mouth as soon as he felt his head hit someone's lap.

"Are you being a good boy?" The warm voice asked, hitting a notch.

"Yes."

"Do you still have the knife?"

"Yes."

"Who would you kill one day?"

"You, mother."

Christa patted her son's head. "That's a good boy."

Subaru drifted into his twisted wonderland and slumped against the cold wooden frame.

A waft of blood came through, faint but noticeable. He heard a shuffling of steps before he opened his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Subaru asked the human, to which she replied in the quietest voice possible, "I was looking for a place to hide."

He saw the girl's terror-stricken face as he raised his head. "Oh no, Subaru kun, I never wanted to disturb your sleep. I know you haven't slept much since I wasn't-" Yui backtracked into a wall as Subaru stood up and walked towards her. "-here."

Subaru sneered. "What makes you think I haven't had enough sleep since you weren't here?"

Yui looked confused. "I didn't mean that, Subaru kun. Reiji san told me that."

"You think you are some special snowflake that I would care about?" Subaru felt the poison in his heart leap out through his words. "Why would I ever care about you except as a blood source?"

Yui hung her head, and accepted her fate. "I know I'm not in a position to explain myself for my absence. I also am aware of the troubles you all have to bear because of me." She looked at him dead in the eyes and spoke out. "But that doesn't mean you don't treat me like a human-" she winced "-a person."

Subaru was shocked at the girl's attitude. She had undergone some serious shit with the Mukamis.

"What happened to you?" Subaru clutched her shoulder and gripped tightly. Yui winced again. "What makes you think you can talk back to me?"

He opened his mouth wide to bite her. Nobody talked to him like that. He wasn't obliged to do anything she wished.

That was until he saw the bruise marks on her neck.

Normally they faded away because of the healing saliva of their kind, but these weren't bite marks. They were brandings. Judging by past experience and deduction, Subaru knew his possessive half-brother had claimed this human as his.

"You let him do this to you and you question me over what I'm supposed to treat you like?"

Yui stayed silent. Then, suddenly she spoke out. "If you want to be as cruel as Ayato kun, then who am I to stop you? Go ahead."

Well, this was bad.

Subaru didn't like this prey.

"Yes, you aren't anybody to expect anything from me." Lunging for a bite, he opened his mouth only to stop midway. His willpower seemed to seep out of him. His appetite was dead.

He breathed hard, and thought out very carefully. She purposefully distracted him by talking back so that he'd be off the thirst. This girl knew a lot about him now.

"Exactly what did they do to you?" Subaru quietly asked, and Yui stayed silent. Hanging her head like an innocent animal, she squirmed out of his grasp. "I need to see if Ruki kun is all right."

She was about to turn away from the boy as he gripped her frail forearm in his hands. He turned her body slightly so she would face towards him. "They hurt you so much and yet you care for them?"

Yui sighed, and met Subaru's eyes. Solemnly swearing in his mind, he saw a fire inside her burn brighter than the sun. "I'm not the beast that everyone here is supposed to be."

Subaru looked shocked and pleased at the same time. "What if you end up dead even after doing all this sympathy and melodrama?"

"I'm not doing this so I can save myself, Subaru kun." Yui said, her eyes gleaming. "I'm doing this so everything could be better for everyone. So that no one would get hurt."

Subaru stared at the girl, her warmth now starting up his long-dead heart. She wasn't avoiding getting bitten to save herself the pain, she was trying to avoid another clash between the Sakamakis and the Mukamis. God knows what might happen when Ruki and Ayato clashed. What about Shu and Yuma? And what about that stupid Kou and Subaru himself? Kanato and Azuza were a different story.

"You're different," Subaru said, as he let her off. "You used to take every pain in the hope that your God would give you an equal amount of happiness the other day."

"I've realised now that the world doesn't work that way anymore, Subaru kun," Yui said, a small smile appearing on her face. "You have to protect your happiness from those who threaten it. You have to fight for it."

With that, the fair-haired girl twirled around and disappeared from Subaru's view. He admired her for a long time before he decided it was time to visit Kou to discuss about this sudden change in the human girl.

The awakening was at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to add some witty remark here but I forgot. Sorry for the "sed boi" depiction of Subaru. He's tragic in my opinion.


	3. Chapter 3

If there was something that Mukami Ruki was disgusted with, it was weaklings.

Born into an aristocratic family, he was entitled to everything a human could wish for, and more. But he had been corrupted at a young age, taking pleasure in hurting people less fortunate than him.

Ruki enjoyed torture, but he enjoyed them begging for him to stop the most. It made him feel powerful. He felt like he owned everybody.

Everybody is essentially livestock.

His train of thoughts was broken by a shuffle of feet. He turned around and saw the shy girl come inside his room with a tray. "How are you feeling Ruki kun?"

Everybody he had tortured avoided him like a plague but this girl was something else. "Eve, I told you not to come here."

"I needed to make sure you were eating well." Yui reasoned, and saw the young man's face droop in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Yui asked, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Food isn't something that can cure me," Ruki said.

Yui gulped as she tried to find words to answer Ruki. "I wish I could give it to you but at this moment-"

Ruki sighed. "I know. Ten vampires under the same roof. Anything can go wrong. I never asked you to give me blood, Eve."

"Then what do you want?" Yui asked, setting the tray beside the bedside table. "I can get you anything you want."

"Can you?" Ruki asked, and by the way he said it, Yui knew it wasn't anything pleasant.

"Ruki kun-"

"Forget it," Ruki said, noticing her nervousness. "There's no hope for me, for I am not a pureblood."

Yui held his hand in her light grasp. Ruki considered taking away his hand but decided against it.

"Can you tell me why half-blooded vampires like you cannot become Adam?" Yui asked, but Ruki stayed silent. He only picked the small book he always used to hold in his hands and flipped through its pages.

Yui got the hint. "I'll just go and-"

"In order to become Adam, I need to capture your soul, heart and mind," Ruki said, his eyes fixated on the memento his father once gave to him. "But in order to do so, I have to fall in love with you first. It has to be a strong, unbreakable bond. But nobody that has experienced human feelings before can form such a bond with Eve."

Yui stood still, expecting Ruki to flip out over asking him such strange questions. Instead, he remained silent and stared into the book, his expression remaining cold and unreadable.

Yui opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated even as the question was about to roll off her tongue.

Ruki raised his head, and spoke up. "What is it?"

"Ruki kun, if-" She hesitated, as if knowing it would hurt him to answer this, "-if it is necessary for one of the Sakamakis to become Adam, who would you prefer..."

Ruki widened his eyes. Of all questions, he did not expect that one. "Would you rather have me dictate you who you spend the rest of your life?"

Yui quickly corrected herself. "I just asked for your opinion."

Ruki seemed to reflect upon it. A warm smile spread over his face as he said, "I would like you to choose whoever treats you the best."

Yui stared at the vampire in disbelief. The cruellest of all the beasts she had once seen, was now asking her to choose the one who treated her the best. She remembered how she had been locked up in the dingy storeroom only to be sucked and fed. How the days blended into night until she couldn't differentiate between the two. How Ayato had risked entering his enemy’s territory to get her back.

Why hadn't he been sooner? Why did he wait? She remembered how Ayato hadn't come to school ever since she was with the Mukamis, how the brothers had told her about his absence to her.

What about Subaru? He was the first one to confront her at school. Even though he ultimately gave in to his bloodsucking urge, he was the first brother to bother speaking to her.

And Shu. Even though Yuma had forcefully drunk from Yui to make him realise that she didn't belong to them anymore, he seemed like he couldn't stand her being sucked by anybody else. Although her first impression of the lad was pretty impressive, it all changed when he said he only liked her for her warm, exotic blood.

Her world was a mess that she couldn't get free from. Her mind kept shifting from one brother to the other, measuring all the good times they had spent together combined with the pain they always seemed to force upon her.

"Ruki kun, can I ask you something?"

Ruki leaned back on his bed, and nodded.

"Is there any way I can remain with all of you and not choose anyone of you?"

Ruki pondered over the question. He seemed so lost in thought that Yui thought she would eventually be told off, but Ruki admitted, "You can only stay with us forever if we kill you."

Yui remembered Laito's words. Forcing death upon a loved one is supposed to be the ultimate symbol of love for vampires.

Would the brothers be kind enough to her to stop her suffering and put her to a merciful death?

Nobody seemed to be so nice to bother to do that anyway.

"I'm not afraid of dying." Yui admitted. Her father had given her up to a house full of demons. Whether she liked it or not, it was the truth. "I have nothing to look forward to."

"Kou might disagree," Ruki smiled, and fondly held her hand in his firm grip. "He used to say that he was so fixated on living another day while he was in the manholes, that he would forget the sadness in his life and just wait for another sunrise to be as hopeful as the last one."

Yui hung her head in shame. She was only being selfish when she said that she didn't want to live anymore. But in reality, she needed them as much as they needed her. Whether as a blood bank, a girl to tease, or as livestock, it was all deep down buried in a corner of her heart. She was too naïve to notice.

Once she falls apart, they would fall apart too.

Ruki squeezed her hand until she felt it tighten a little too hard around her wrist. "Ouch," she gasped and clutched her wrist.

Ruki didn't let go. He squeezed until she could see bluish marks form over her pale skin, and let out a painful scream.

Ruki let her hand go. "How do you feel?"

Yui stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean? I feel hurt."

Ruki stared down at his hands and answered, "The moment you feel somebody protects you to the point he feels hurt, it would be obvious to you. Love is such a strong feeling that you can't comprehend with a sane mind."

Yui tilted her head to her side, and in came a younger Mukami, panting. "Ruki kun... Ayato..."

Ruki cast a gaze over Azuza. "What happened to him?"

Yui looked concerned, as Azuza turned towards her. "Eve, Ayato kun... injured... not well..."

"Azuza kun?" Yui held the vampire by his arm. "What do you mean? Ayato kun is hurt?"

"Blood..." Azuza muttered, "He wants... to feed..."


	4. Chapter 4

It burned.

Ayato clutched his heart and waited for the heat inside his to die down. But it grew stronger, bigger, and ravenous. He felt like he would set fire to everything he touched.

Look what that worthless flat chested girl had reduced him to.

He chuckled in amusement to himself as he shifted inside his iron maiden. She had grown selfish in those bastards' company. Her defences had gone up. She even talked back to him this time. All while Ayato admired her feisty, quirky side. This was something new to him, and he liked challenges.

But maybe this challenge was a bit too far-fetched and Yui was being too harsh on him.

He had instructed everyone to stay away from his room, and he knew that only blood could satisfy him right now, but he remembered how the asshole Ruki had given Pancake a choice while he asked to protect her.

If that lowlife can give her something I can't, I don't deserve her blood.

Be the best. Be the best. Be the best.

The red-haired vampire clamped his ears shut as his mother's voice pounded in his head. If you are not the best, you are of no use to me.

How can I even match up to that half-blood? Ayato thought, his body convulsing in pangs of hunger. He's experienced loss, longing and love during his childhood as a human. Whereas I-

The squeak of door hinges was what woke him up from his ravings, and soft footsteps came closer to him. He braced himself as somebody swung the lid of the iron maiden off and light invaded his senses.

He stared at the girl for a long time he waited for her to say something. Something that might not be according to his tastes and might anger him, giving him a chance to suck on her blood.

Without saying a word, Yui turned back, bolted the door to Ayato's room, walked towards him and settled inside the iron maiden beside him. Ayato gaped in disbelief at her, and stared wide eyed as he spoke up, "What the hell, Pancake. You're not supposed to be here-"

Yui quickly slammed the door of the torture device shut. Ayato breathed heavily as she shuffled inside, slinking an arm around his neck and manoeuvring his body until he was on top of her.

"Pancake!" Ayato shouted at her, his breathing now ragged, in anticipation yet hiding an imminent fear.

Yui smiled slightly, even though he couldn't see it, he felt it through the warmth of her body, as she submitted to him. "Why didn't you tell me you were so hungry?"

Ayato gulped down and felt his thirst grow into a monster he certainly couldn't control at this point. He wanted blood.

But not like this.

"Pancake," he pleaded, almost at the verge of breaking down and tearing off her flesh. "Don't do this. I don't know what I've become."

Yui carefully guided the vampire by clutching his hair, something that excited him to the point of ecstasy, and placed his dried lips on top of her neck, as she simultaneously uncovered her shoulder to give him better access.

"Pancake," Ayato now pleaded, his voice muffled and his saliva drooping over her neck, "Yui."

Yui embraced him. "Shh, everything is fine. You won't hurt me this time."

Ayato found himself licking the human's neck and trying to find a right spot to dig his teeth in. The iron maiden was the best spot to suck blood. It ensured that Yui didn't have an opportunity to move too much while making it possible enough for him to overpower her and give her an immense amount of pain.

Yui gasped in pain as Ayato finally bit into her, her tiny voice slowly being replaced by the sound of him greedily sucking her. This is how it's supposed to be, she is under my control. Ayato felt a nasty feeling inside his head as he went lower down her neck and bit harder into her flesh, and she moaned in utter pain.

Her twisted expression, her cries, Ayato thought as he lifted the lid off to get a better view of her. They all belong to me. Her eyes shut automatically as he threw the lid off, but her expression was still one of pain, and something else he couldn't comprehend at first.

Then he realised it was peace.

Not pleasure, not misery, not disgust, but peace. A feeling that even shook his dead heart to life, as he bent down to ravenously feed upon her.

She noticed as his bites became gentle and he completely stopped sucking, only to leave trails of kisses on her neck and shoulders, her skin pulsating with excitement as he licked her sweat and left angry red marks on her pale skin.

It was until he collapsed, his head nuzzled into her shoulder, his breaths rapid and loud against the silence of the night.

Yui felt her eyelids close as she heard a grunt from Ayato. "Don't you dare sleep on me."

She quizzically looked at his half-illuminated face and gave a sigh. He wasn't done with her.

And she doubted he ever would.

* * *

Sakamaki Reiji was done with his brothers.

Every time he thought he'd just give up on his useless family, a stupid voice of concern resounded inside him, chiding him for letting his father down. Although their father rarely visited them, let alone keep high expectations from them, he was constantly reminded how his mother would often pursue his elder brother Shu to be more like his father: a commanding presence and the head of the family. His heart bled at the sight of that stupid brother of his hoarding their mother's attention all for himself.

That poison slowly dissolved in all of their hearts before Reiji spitefully burned up his brother's best friend's village.

Reiji had always enjoyed seeing his enemies suffer, but it was the first time he revelled in it. Shu became withdrawn, cold and unmotivated. The only time he'd be bothered to do something would be when he would be insulted into doing something by Reiji.

They'd always been rivals, at least according to Reiji. But they were never close to begin with. Shu was always a happy go lucky when he was a child, while Reiji was preoccupied with his studies and experiments. The other brothers were always a nuisance to him. Only when both of the mothers died, was Reiji motivated to take the reins of Sakamaki household and at least make it properly functional.

Nothing could possibly replace Reiji from his role.

He smirked as he heard the rumbling sounds and cries from above him. Finally that whore was giving him blood. God only knows what might have happened-

He raised his head to meet the eyes of his elder brother. "Shu."

"Before you start your lecture, hear me out," the blue-eyed boy started, his voice oddly laced with excitement.

"Talk," Reiji said in a nonchalant way.

"You said you wanted to bring mother back, right?" Shu looked square into Reiji's eyes. The raven-haired boy took a step back. "So what if I did?"

Shu smiled, and said, "I know how to get her back."

* * *

"Ayato kun," Yui said, clutching onto the vampire tightly as he flew her across the mansion to the garden, "What's the hurry?"

Ayato let out a sigh. "Hold on tight and stop asking stupid questions. You belong to Ore-sama, don't you?"

Yui hesitated.

"Now what? Cat got your tongue? Are you deaf? Answer me!" Ayato got impatient.

"Yes," Yui said in a quiet voice.

"Then trust Ore-sama and be obedient."

Trust. That was what Yui couldn't build with any of the brothers. Especially Ayato. She never knew when his anger took a toll on him.

"Ouch!" Yui felt her spine cry in pain as Ayato dropped her on the grass. The moon was the colour of blood. Her wine-red eyes twinkled and she forgot the pain as soon as she looked at the moon. "Beautiful."

"Careful, there's a snake beside you," Ayato said in a particularly uncaring voice, but Yui jumped right into his arms, shrieking.

Ayato laughed in mirth. "You realise how stupid you look? There's no snake, Pancake."

Yui made a face and settled down. The grass was already wet with dew, and it felt nice to touch the tips softened with moisture. Yui looked above as Ayato took off his blazer and sat down, folding his legs. His eyes looked distant, as if lost deep in thought.

"Ayato kun..." Yui started, but clamped her mouth shut. She was stupid for thinking such a thing. He'd lunge for her blood as soon as she gave him a reason to.

Even if she didn't give him a reason to.

"What?" Ayato demanded as he noticed her silence.

"Do you... did you want to..." Yui struggled with words, "Do you want some more of my blood?"

Ayato turned his head in disbelief. "You didn't like the last time we did it?"

Now that sounded like something entirely different.

"That's not-"

"Maybe I can add in a few handcuffs," Ayato went on, ignoring her. "And a few torturing methods. How do you like water? Should we try drowning you then sucking your blood?"

"AYATO KUN!" Yui screamed and clutched his collar. Ayato took the chance to dominate over her and tackled her to the ground, locking her body so she couldn't move.

"Ayato... kun," Yui heaved as she felt his arm coming into place and clenching around her neck, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-"

She coughed as Ayato grunted and squeezed tighter. The lack of oxygen suddenly made Yui feel dizzy, her vision becoming double, and her head becoming light.

"You stupid woman," Ayato said, getting away from her like she was a diseased person. "You should know your place."

Yui sat upright, feeling her shoulders droop down in embarrassment. She felt a strange feeling inside her chest, one that drove her to the edge of her sanity. Yui wanted to pull Ayato and beat the shit out of him. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel ashamed, to make him feel inferior.

Somehow those violent thoughts drowned in the sound of Ayato's yawn. "The sun will be up soon," he said, stretching his arms above his head. "Let's head back to the mansion."

Yui swallowed hard. "Ayato kun."

"NOW WHAT?!" Ayato fumed, his eyes glowing fluorescent in the dark.

Yui squirmed, and gathering courage, said, "I... I want you to know..." She helped herself up on her legs, even though her body seemed so tired she could pass out any moment. "...that someday, maybe someday I'll get to choose Adam. And when I do that, IT WILL NOT BE YOU!"

Yui heaved, even though her body seemed like it was made of spun glass, her voice held a quality that was admirable. She spoke with such authority, such superiority that even Ayato could not think of a smart comeback for her degrading comment.

Ayato was pretty shaken. To see Yui rebel and dominate was almost as believable as seeing pigs fly. "And who would you choose in my stead, Pancake?"

Yui stumbled, but did not fall into his arms. She gathered all her strength not to do that. She couldn't let her repeat the same mistake again and again. "Someone who would treat me well, who would treat me better than you."

With that, she spun on her heel and stormed away from him, and into the mansion.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for sexual assault.

Ayato wandered around the mansion, humming a forgotten tune to himself. He stumbled across a door left ajar, revealing a soundly sleeping Ruki. He was amazed as to how this half-blood could sleep in the middle of the night. That too, without his coffin. But then, he hadn't seen many half-bloods in his lifetime. He kicked the door open and invited himself in.

The bang roused Ruki, who rubbed his eyes lazily as he sat upright. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," Ayato answered back. But by his relaxed mannerisms, Ruki could assume that he had had some of Eve's blood.

"You sucked on her, right?" Ruki spat out. Ayato seemed surprised, as though he hadn't expected such an outburst from Ruki. He pulled out a chair from the dresser and sat down on it. "Excuse me?"

"You let her blood leak out, even when you knew that it was dangerous."

Ayato let out a little chuckle. "Chichinashi is mine. I do whatever I want with her."

"Is it?" Ruki seemed amused. He cocked an eyebrow and said, "If that's how you think, can you make Eve care for you?"

"Care for me?" Ayato was perplexed. "Of course she does. She'd come sprinting for me the moment she heard I was thirsty-"

"That's pity, and it is a whole other emotion compared to compassion."

Ayato lost interest in the conversation. "As long as she's ready to give me her blood, I don't really care."

"Well, you know, the bond of love is enough to make you a slave." Ruki quoted from one of the books on his side table.

"What?"

Ruki smiled as he lured Ayato into his trap. "Right now, Yui is defiant of you. And granted, you enjoy a prey that puts up a fight, but imagine the possibilities if Yui was more submissive towards you. You could hurt her in ways unimaginable, and the only thing you would need to do in order to achieve that would be to ask her."

Ayato rubbed his chin. "I don't understand a thing you say."

"Suppose," Ruki explained, "that you want to test her pain limit. Normally, she would put up a fight, and as usual, that would put you of your thirst. But if she doesn't put up a fight at all..."

Ayato blinked. "So, in order to do that, what do I have to do?"

Ruki smirked. "Simple. Win her affection. Make her fall in love."

* * *

Shu was sleeping as usual on the couch, when he heard a shuffling of feet. The very sound made him realise that it was the naïveté. He scrunched his nose up in annoyance. "You woke me up."

She squeaked. "Shu-san!"

"Obviously it's me, you idiot." He said, getting up and staring at her angrily. "Because of you I haven't been able to sleep properly for days."

Yui hung her head in shame. The dim moonlight hit her soft features as she moved closer to Shu. "I'm sorry Shu-san."

Shu inhaled in her scent, as her body glowed with warmth and sweat. It awakened a hunger inside him that he didn't comprehend. Soon enough, he was on top of her, pinning her to the ground, and tearing off her collar to expose her shoulder.

Yui resisted. Her nails dug into the vampire's skin, leaving nothing but unbroken skin in its wake. She hiccupped as a swarm of tears overcame her, and she felt sharp teeth tear through her skin like a hot knife through butter.

Shu helped himself to her blood, and soon his fingers travelled to parts of her untouched by any other man. The first thrust sent her into a painful spasm, and she arched her back. "No..." she managed to let a small sound out. Shu continued his torture, thrusting his fingers at an agonising speed, making Yui feel even more repulsed.

"Such a bad girl," Shu whispered, and bit down harder. That was enough to make her scream in agony, and the next thing she knew was that Shu was ripped off of her, and Ayato stood right in front of her, his eyes bright with fury, almost looking ready to rip Shu's head off.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ayato picked Yui in his arms, and started walking towards her room. "I am the one who gets all your firsts."

* * *

Once in the bedroom, Ayato dropped Yui on the bed. She squinted in pain, ready to bear the brunt of his tantrums.

But then out of nowhere, Ayato covered her with a blanket and tucked her in.

"Ayato-kun," Yui swallowed, "Thank you."

Ayato huffed. "You're a pain to watch out for."

Yui hung her head in shame. "I understand."

Ayato turned on his heels and said "I would lock you from outside. Can't trust you running into my brothers again."

"Ayato-kun..."

"WHAT?!"

"Do you want my blood?"

"What kind of question is that?" Ayato said, "Of course I do. But I don't want to drink it right now."

A soft shiver ran down Yui's spine as she looked at Ayato, as he started to advance towards her. She crawled back into the bed, bumping her head into the headboard, and gasping in surprise. Ayato pulled her by her ankle and pinned her down, as she stopped struggling altogether.

"What are you going to do, Ayato-kun?"

Ayato watched her chest rise and fall, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He brought his lips towards the bite mark on Yui's neck, and planted a chaste kiss on it. Yui closed her eyes in terror. This wasn't happening. She could stop Ayato from drinking her blood but she couldn't stop him from taking advantage of her. As she almost regained the sensation in her limbs, she felt him lick the wound and leave his saliva on her neck.

The first thing that came into Yui's mind was gross. Then, as she felt her willpower slip away, Ayato lifted himself off from her.

"You're boring when you don't fight," he said, and spat on the floor. And then, within a flash, he was gone, and the bedroom door was locked from outside.

And that was the moment Yui realised that the bite had stopped stinging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for leaving kudos. Hope you enjoy the story so far.


	6. Chapter 6

_Pain, pain, pain._

Azuza chanted a solemn hymn as he slowly undressed his wounds, revealing pinkish raw flesh and angry red scars underneath. As much as he wanted to see the scabs, he needed to refresh them yet again, the beautiful scars of his childhood: Justin, Christina, Melissa.

A sweet scent wafted in the air as he reopened his wounds yet again, and let them drip into the bath tub. The water turned a scarlet red almost instantly. Vampire blood was much less viscous than human blood, but it was nevertheless much more difficult to keep vampire skin wounds open for a longer time. His favourite knife dug deeper into his skin, dripping magnificent blood onto the bath, and staining the silver edge a pale pink.

"Why don't you just die already?" He heard Kanato's voice, laced with poison, taunting him.

Azuza giggled as he turned towards the little kid. Dishevelled hair, restless appearance and torn clothes. Kanato's presence looked oddly familiar to him.

"Eve is ultimately going to be ours," Azuza said lazily, drained by the loss of blood. "I need the taste of her blood when she does become ours."

Kanato's anger must have flared, as he said, "How dare you take her name like that!"

Azuza looked at the red water, as he washed his wounds and started dressing his wounds up again. "You know, in order to become Adam, you need to feel kindness and love, to be closer to humans in an emotional way."

Kanato smirked, his hand forming into a fist. "It's not possible for you guys to become Adam, right?"

Azuza said, his tone morbid, "No but, I doubt we were ever going to be one."

Kanato leaned against the bathroom counter. "How?"

"Even though we were born humans, no one really experienced human emotions from the start amongst ourselves." He lifted his shirt to tuck his knife into a knife holder strapped across his chest. "Yuma was almost always a brawn over brain kind of a person. Kou never felt that he deserved much in this world because he had been blessed with beauty. Ruki was always a bitter aristocrat who enjoyed torturing people." Taking a brief moment to swirl the bathwater with his fingers, he looked up at Kanato with a wild smile. "Who knows why Karlheinz thought one of us demons could become an Adam."

Kanato suddenly felt uncomfortable. "What's your big idea about this?"

Azuza looked at the tiles, wondering whether this man-child had finally grown out of his sweets and his teddy bears. "Perhaps he still held onto the hope that one of you guys would become Adam, but he wanted a specific trigger to kickstart the whole process. Perhaps the way to achieve love was through hatred, and we were the ones who could instil it deep enough inside you."

Kanato stared at him, dumbstruck. how did this masochist idiot know so much about his father's plans? And how could he conceal that shrewd nature inside himself for so long?

"Don't feel threatened, Kanato," Azuza said, calmly soaking himself inside the tub, spilling water onto the floor as he slid himself inside, his shoulders sinking below the water level. "The only reason I care about all this is because I care about Yuma and the others. I don't think I can ever compete with you guys."

Kanato paused, watching the boy drown himself, slipping into a dreamless state almost instantaneously. Bubbles escaped the water as Azuza slept in what Kanato assumed was his makeshift coffin.

Kanato exited the bathroom in confusion. So was the only reason for the Mukamis' existence was to serve as a catalyst in this Adam and Eve thing?

Only time will tell.

* * *

Ayato flicked the dart in his hand, tearing into his flesh.

He'd come back into the mansion's playroom. He'd had so much of Yui's blood that it made him dizzy. He pulled his hand back, and leisurely threw a dart at the target.

"Ayato kun~" Kou entered the playroom as the dart hit right at the target. Laito stretched lazily on his bench, yawning. "Did you do it?"

"I was about to, but Mr. Fairy face interrupted me." Ayato threw the darts on the floor in disgust. "This will never work with these sons of whores lying around like asses while we devise a plan."

Kou appeared to be interested. "Oh, now the stakes have gone so high that you purebloods have to resort to planning and strategy instead of whining like puppies?"

"You bloody-" Ayato slowly gathered his wits. "If you dare to open your mouth in my presence, I will rip the other eye out as well."

"Come on," Kou said, exasperated. "What's the plan?"

Laito looked at Kou, a smirk on his face. "First we stake your heart, then we chop your head off."

Kou crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not pleased.

Ayato looked over at Laito, flicking another blood-soaked dart over at the board. "I doubt it will work."

"Even if it doesn't work, it will definitely buy us time," Laito said, grabbing a Ziploc bag from his pocket. Pretty pastel macarons were badly squished in his bag, and he threw it in the trash. "Poor little bitch. She'd have to do for tonight."

Ayato turned towards Laito, his eyes burning in fury. "Don't touch her."

"Just a little snack for me, Ayato kun." He pouted at Ayato, who seemed to have been tired of his charades.

"No snacks, not even a drop of her blood will touch your filthy mouth unless we keep them at the gates." Ayato saw the sky getting brighter by the moment. "We might have only a day left."

Kou sat down on a stool, declaring, "If it's about kitten, I want to be a part of it as well."

Ayato and Laito looked at each other, and said in unison. "No."

Kou held a hand over his heart, feigning disappointment. "I'm trustworthy as well."

"Um, no?" Ayato said, remembering all the things they had done to Yui. Kept her caged like an animal, treated her like cattle, sucked her dry and left their marks on her. "I don't know about Laito, but I don't trust you."

Laito paused, as he sat up. "I think Kou kun's talents will help us a bit." He looked at Kou, a false smile plastered on his face, as he spoke, "Hey Kou kun, I think you might like this idea, after all."

Kou looked a bit disturbed by Laito's openness, but said, "Okay, I'm all ears."


	7. Chapter 7

Yui stumbled across the garden as a cold wind blew, sweeping her hair across her face. Beyond the mansion, across the fence, a desolate church stood, unhinged by the unholiness that plagued the Sakamaki estate. It was weird how even the brothers could stand the sight of the church right from their grounds. Yui held onto a single cross that she always kept with her, and god knows how many times she had "lost" it. Usually Kanato resorted to torturing her like that, but she had even witnessed Reiji and Laito steal it from her drawer, claiming it "did not seem fit for her" when she lived in the company of heathens like them, or "Bitch chan should not rely on artificial ideas like god". She looked around, scared of what might come if she does cross the premises. Most probably Kou or Yuma will catch her sneaking out and drag her back, or maybe Reiji will get creative with his punishments.

But she needed some peace.

Regardless of what she might have said to Subaru in an overconfident retort, a small part of her still counted on her father to come and rescue her. She'd tried to contact him so many times, risked so much for one letter, one phone call, just to tell him she was fine, she was alive. Or maybe she wasn't fine, her defences were being broken day by day, and she still seemed to bear it all for but one hope: that there were better days ahead.

She took in a deep breath, looking at the mansion one last time, and jumped over the stone wall.

Landing on her feet, she definitely felt something slither down her leg, and she shrieked. Quickly gathering her wits, her hands clutched her cross defiantly. She'd sinned enough ever since she came to this mansion. She'd given Ayato, perhaps the one who had tortured her the most, her blood willingly. She inched closer to the church, looking at the premises a bit confused. The church was in a pathetic state. Pews were thrown out of the building unceremoniously, rotting in the backyard. Little grapevines grew along the wooden fence. An apple tree shaded her from the bloody moonlight as she passed it and entered the building.

Most of the furniture had been stripped away, save for the altar and the angels flanking it, and the Jesus on the crucifix, appearing melancholic. She sat down on a pew, her hands folded, her eyes closed.

Her mind, though, didn't seem at peace.

She pushed back thoughts she had always harboured at the back of her mind. Was Shu playing the violin again? Bet Reiji was furious at her for not coming for dinner. Ruki kun was probably fighting with Ayato again. Oh god, if Azuza starts to wave his knife collection around! No, Kou kun will mitigate that disaster. Wonder where Yuma is, is he still mad at Shu? Blood, they all must have been so thirsty...

She realised that she was crying when a small gasp escaped her, and she broke down. Sobbing, looking at the statue of Christ, tears blurring her vision.

Amidst her tears, she managed to choke out, "Why me?"

No answer from her god. Even He hung his head in shame.

"I waited for so long," she sobbed, her voice breaking. "Living with the Sakamakis, then with the Mukamis. I waited for my father to rescue me from this hell." She got up from the bench as an overwhelming emotion overtook her.

Running outside, she tripped over a grapevine, twisting her ankle.

"Ah!" a tortured scream ripped out of her throat.

"Whoa."

A pair of black boots shone under the moonlight, as she felt strong hands pick her up by the shoulders.

Yuma's handsome face illuminated under the moonlight, making him appear to be a little more friendly and a little less dangerous.

She wiped her tears away in haste. "Yuma kun..."

"What are you doing here?"

Yui felt an impending doom, as she tried to weasel out of the situation, directing the question at him instead. "What are you doing in a church?"

His hands went into his pockets as he fished out an apple. Handing it to her, he meekly replied, "That apple tree gives some good fruits. I was worried about Ruki so I came here to take my mind off."

Yui was unconvinced, but didn't pry further. "All right."

Yuma picked her up in his arms, bridal style. Felling the ground slip beneath her feet, she squeaked. "Yuma kun!"

He supported her entire body weight in one hand. His hands went over his messed-up bun, as he pulled it free, letting his brown locks wild. She put a palm against his firm chest, and whimpered. "Yuma kun."

"Give me your blood." Yuma swiftly slipped away her shoulder strap, revealing her bruised neck. Angry red marks turning blue as she was being rapidly drained of blood. He brought his head closer towards her skin, smelling the sweetest aroma, enveloping him. He was met with no resistance as he bit into her ravenously, her shoulders shuddering as he sucked like a rabid animal.

He brought her closer, her chest flush against his, his palm against the small of her back, her hands digging into his back. He gulped, and grunted as her head lolled backwards, her feet kicking in a knee jerk reaction.

He removed his fangs, and licked her skin. "Don't fall asleep on me, sow! The fun is just getting started."

He brought his hand against her neck, and quickly realised that this wasn't normal. Her eyes were half lidded, but unfocused. Even when their faces were inches apart, she didn't react, as though she'd dissociated herself. Her breathing slowed down, her chest barely raising against his. Her mouth opened a bit, as if a suppressed scream barely escaped her lungs, that had already given up.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Yuma tried to shake her up, trying to keep her awake. "Hey sow! Don't do this!"

Her hands lost their grip over his shoulders, and the cross slipped away from her grasp, falling into the grass, unnoticed by either of them. Amongst Yuma's confused rambling and Yui's dead silence, the cross managed to stay undiscovered, as he raced back towards the mansion.

"Don't worry sow!" Yuma said as he jumped over the stone wall, Yui unresponsive, almost dead in his arms. "Four eyes might know what happened to you! Stay awake for god's sake, Eve!"

Yui seemed to register, as her lips hinted the shadow of a smile. Whether the fact that this monster just uttered the name of god, or that he was concerned for her, or that he called her Eve, nothing seemed real. Her reality seemed to bleed over her dream, as the mansion turned into the tree with golden leaves, a rhythmic ticking of a clock, as she breathed out a name.

_Adam._

* * *

Subaru stood in the garden of white roses, as the tower where his mother was captive. His dagger still in his hand, he promised himself. I'll do it soon enough. His chest heaved heavy as he could clearly hear his mother having another one of her fits. It's not easy to shut those sounds off when you're cursed with heightened senses. She cried over and over again, banging her head on the bars as she screamed. "Don't do it to me brother! Don't do it to me! He's a monster, I'll be doomed!"

Subaru felt disgusted. He didn't even have the heart to put his mother out of her misery. He brushed his light locks aside, hearing his mother descend more into her madness. Had she been sane, would she behold her son the same way he had seen Beatrix watch Shu? Would she call him a monster still? Her being sane wouldn't change the fact that he was a product of incest, would it? He would still be a disgusting thing to look at. He would still be an abomination.

"My child, my child!" Christa screamed at the top of her lungs. "Help me! Help me... Subaru!"

Subaru rarely heard his mother take his name. He was the spitting image of his father, with his blond pink hair and his pink eyes. At some moments, Reiji remarked once, he would even talk in the same self-righteous tone their father used. As if he wasn't monstrous enough.

Was he so selfish and cowardly, that he refused to give his mother eternal peace? Then what was the difference between him and Karlheinz?

The Sakamaki ritual of murdering mothers, Shu had once called it. That lazy ass believed they were all bound by the same fate of killing their mothers, albeit for different reasons compared to other vampires. While other immortals murdered each other for the ultimate expression of selfless love, they used it to simply get rid of them. Shu said he had avoided the fate just because his mother had favoured Reiji a bit more.

Confused, Subaru had asked, "How come you think Reiji was the favoured one?"

Shu had smiled sadly, as memories resurfaced within him. "While I was the heir to the throne, I never obeyed Beatrix. However Reiji would give even his own life to her if Beatrix commanded him."

Which just left Subaru to contemplate if his mother even loved him or not.

Desperate, he started towards the tower, but halted as he heard one of those halflings stumble towards him, shouting, "Oi Subaru!"

He felt irritated. His mother needed him. Whether she loved him or not, he needed to see her immediately. To drive that dagger into her heart. "What is it? I haven't got any moment to waste."

It was that brown-haired veggie lover that Shu seemed to take particular interest in. "She's not breathing!"

"What?" his words were a whisper against the trilling of bats, as he saw what the tall guy held in his arms. Head rolled on a side, hair shadowing her face, hands clutching in despair, he looked at Yui, her face lacking her usual glow and colour. He glanced at the tower, the screams spiking up to a crescendo.

_I'm sorry._

He grabbed Yui's arm and lifted her in his arms, his hands hating the clammy touch of her skin. Her body was rapidly losing warmth. She looked up in a daze, her hair falling away from her face, half lidded eyes fixated on him.

He ignored her and carried her towards Reiji's library. Her fang wounds had already scabbed, but losing so much in one day had probably taken a toll on her. The Mukami bastard followed him like a stray dog, as they rushed through the stairway, throwing open the library door.

Beside the natural history section, Reiji looked up from his book, settled comfortably on his chair. "Keep the disturbance at the minimum, would you?"

Then he noticed.

The faint beat of her heart, her slowly diminishing pulse, her almost non-existent breathing.

Springing up, he commanded Subaru, "Lie her down on that table!"

Subaru carefully placed her on the table, backing away as Reiji searched the drawers on the opposite wall. He came soon enough with a vial and an injection in hand, finding a vein in the inside of her elbow, and pumping the injection in.

"Will it work?" Subaru asked, his voice hinted with concern.

"I've only given her something to thicken her blood," Reiji said, as he rushed to get the antiseptic, washing his hands quickly and wearing his mask and gloves. "Even if I had them, paddles won't work. I'll have to operate on her."

Yuma sucked in a breath, fiddling.

"I must ask you to leave," Reiji said as he started to unbutton her shirt, snipping off her brassiere with his blade, revealing her emaciated chest. She was so malnourished; you could count her ribs. Just as Reiji brought the tip of his blade towards her sternum, she started convulsing.

"She's undergoing hypovolemic shock!" Reiji shouted, and grabbed another vial as he prepared yet another injection. "Subaru, hold her down!"

Subaru grabbed her shoulders and pinned her down on the table, as Reiji pumped an injection into her.

Yuma looked on in horror.

"Call Ayato and Ruki, quick!" Reiji said, as Yui's body underwent another set of convulsions. Yuma rushed out, shouting. "Ruki kun!"

Subaru watched as Yui flailed, fighting to stay alive, as he prayed. _Don't do this, don't let her die._


	8. Chapter 8

Ayato shuffled through their liquor cabinet, his lower lip trapped beneath his teeth. He knew that gin had been hidden somewhere in the back, but he couldn't reach it without knocking the whole cabinet to the ground. His bloodlust had been awakened yet again, but he couldn't find Yui anywhere on the estate. His throat burned like a desert, might as well burn it with the alcohol while he was at it. His fingers brushed against the bottles, desperately trying to clutch the one at the farthest corner, while keeping an eye for Reiji's tableware. Shu was sleeping on the sofa in the hall, bothered by neither Ayato's possessive rant about how Shu was off limits to the sacrificial bride, how since he had seen her first he deserved to have all her firsts, and that if next time Shu tried to touch her with his filthy fingers he would chop them off. It was becoming tiresome for Shu, as every other sacrificial bride had always been Ayato's possession and everyone was forbidden to touch her unless allowed permission by Ayato first.

Shu yawned in boredom, as he took off an earpiece to enjoy Ayato's struggle. Rolling his eyes, he flopped on his belly, chuckling to himself. Ayato noticed him, and sneered at him. "If you laugh at me, I'll rip your tongue out and feed it to the strays."

Shu let out an even louder laugh. "While you're at it, pick up the brandy that we opened on last New Year’s Eve."

Ayato snickered, remembering the stunt Shu had pulled up that night. "We were thinking you wouldn't come that day to attend the party." And then Shu pulled the best prank on Reiji. While Reiji was about to open the champagne when the cork went loose, hitting him in the eye. They got to know it was Shu who loosened the cork when he was pestered out of his laziness by Reiji, who demanded him to do some work if he wanted the booze during the party. Seeing the calm and confident Reiji flustered in front of his guests, as he pressed an ice pack over his eye was admittedly hilarious to everyone. In order to calm the guests, their father pulled out an expensive gin bottle that he had been hiding from the boys for years, and the panic died down.

Reiji didn't get out of his room for three days.

Ayato admired Shu for pulling such a mean prank and getting away with it. Even though they were brothers, it was hard for him to tease Laito and Kanato both. Laito rarely seemed to get mad despite being continuously poked at by Ayato, and Kanato seemed to get upset at every damn thing. Subaru didn't need a reason to get mad per se, so he wasn't really an ideal person to play pranks on. Shu, despite being a NEET, could turn tables at you fast.

Ayato finally grabbed the gin bottle, gulping down the drink straight from the bottle. The liquor seeped into his mouth, swarming into his throat, burning his desire for blood along with his palate. He threw the bottle at Shu, who caught it effortlessly with one hand. Turning on his back, he downed the gin as he winced, not anticipating the burn. "How do you even drink this stuff."

"Practice," Ayato grinned slyly at him.

Kanato entered the hall, his feet unsteady as he approached Shu and Ayato. Ayato noticed him first, as Kanato's sour expression told him exactly what had happened. "Shu san tricked me into leaving Yui san's pursuit to chase after the NON-EXISTENT TEDDY THAT REIJI WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT PLANNING ON RESURRECTING!" Ayato laughed out as Kanato proceeded to promptly flip the sofa Shu was lounging on. Shu dropped on the ground with a loud thud, hitting headfirst. Shu opened one eye, not seeing Kanato's rage fit to even respond to. Rubbing his head with his left hand, he said, "Better turn that anger towards Reiji if you want your toy back."

"You..." Kanato growled, but was interrupted by the faint sound of Reiji shouting something at someone. They soon heard the thumping of huge footsteps, as Yuma climbed down the stairs, his breathing shallow and hair dishevelled. "That sow..."

Ayato waited for Yuma to finish his sentence, but when he didn't a slight sense of dread settled in his chest. Shu dropped the bottle of gin on the ground, rushing towards the direction from where they could hear Reiji's panicked voice coming. Reiji has every cure for humans under him, as far as Ayato knew. If even Reiji was going bonkers over her this time, then maybe...

Kanato pushed Ayato aside as he too followed suit and rushed towards Reiji's red-haired vampire stared at the library upstairs, in shock and confusion. Within ten minutes Laito had asked him to set their plan into motion. He risked failure if he didn't reach at time. He withdrew his gaze, walking away from the mansion towards the tower, hating himself for every step he took away from Yui. Well, why bother about her anyway? She was going to die whether Reiji saved her or not. Bothering about her, whether she had that exquisite blood or not was useless. Even though Ayato had extreme materialistic attachments, he knew better to become a fool over a mortal. Shu had done that once, look where it got him.

He could simply switch her with another blood bag, and there would be no difference.

However...

_Someday, maybe someday I'll get to choose Adam._

He cupped his hands around his ears, shutting Subaru's mother's screams out.

_And when I do that, IT WILL NOT BE YOU!_

"Tch," he spat out, feeling pathetic and weak, "Chichinashi, what have you done to me?"

Tsukinami Carla felt another cough hacking through his lungs, as he tried to break through the weak barrier that the second eldest son of the vampire king had constructed around the mansion. Shin's energy had been already exhausted, chasing around in his wolf form. He looked up at the night sky, as the earth's shadow finally devoured the red moon. A wave of relief washed over him as he felt the barrier disappear into nothingness. He tried to slightly push at the boundary of ethereal magic around the mansion, residual from the former weakened border that Reiji had tried to reinforce with his magic. As expected, the border came unravelling like a woollen spool. His tug strengthened, and the entire boundary shattered along with the magic border.

Shin panted beside him, back in his wolf form. Carla suppressed his cough, uncovering his mask. Sending his little brother a quaint smile, he looked back at the huge entrance of the mansion.

They both proceeded towards the huge gate, Carla casually pushing it so that it fell on the ground, resonating a loud clang throughout the estate. A silent smile fell upon his lips as he saw a figure dart across the tower, obviously terrified of their strength.

The Sakamaki estate was huge, yet smaller that Carla's estate by a huge margin. From his point of view, he could see a grand garden of white roses, all aligned with the watch tower he had witnessed before. The manor was itself a monstrosity, stretching across the distance, with fountains and patches of miscellaneous plants across the wide front area. Ironically, a church could be seen from the grounds, and Carla wondered how these dense idiots could stand the sight of that.

Carla barely had any time to react as something pointed whizzed past him. A blur of shadows and a vision of red went past his vision, as he felt a tight jab in his chest. His first reaction was shock. Then anger.

"What the hell!" he shrieked as he noticed a slash across his chest. That little spiny thing had distracted him, while his attacker closed in on him. Shin seemed to get perturbed, growling at something among the apple trees. Carla waited in anticipation. The Sakamakis were prepared to face them somehow. Did they know how powerful the Founders were? Were they aware of what they were messing with?

The weird thing was, he couldn't hear her heartbeat.

"Where is the human girl?" Carla spoke in a low voice, covering his face with the mask again. If they had hidden her somewhere else, they had practically wasted their one and only chance at the lunar eclipse over nothing. And he expected that the girl with Cordelia's heart wasn't here. There was no other explanation as to why...

"And why should we give her to you, pray tell?" an amused voice called out from the shadows. Those sly bastards. They were taking advantage the estate being so cluttered with trees.

"I don't think they're British, Ayato kun," another voice said in a lower tone, as if embarrassed.

A figure emerged from the trees. Red, long hair to the shoulders, lean but athletic build. The man sported a fedora and a fur jacket, totally out of context in such a warm weather. He shuffled through the pavement where Carla was standing, barely inches away from both of them. He could now see the boy, barely seventeen years of age, standing casually beside him as if he were some stranger, and not the last Founder alive. He was amazed by the boy's ignorance. Carla's eyes travelled down as he saw a glint of metal in the boy's hand. He leaned over a blood-soaked long sword.

"Forgive me," the boy said, as he lifted the sword and pointed it towards Shin. "You speak, don't you, wolf boy?"

Shin transformed back into his normal form. Growling, he said, "Of course I do," a pause, "You just casually standing beside a Founder like that?"

"You have any problem with that?" Carla heard a shuffle in the shadows, and another figure stepped into the faint light of the lamp overhead. This one was also barely seventeen, red hair messy over his forehead, wearing a torn school shirt and blazer. He wore a tie wrapped around his neck in an unusual fashion, and one of his pant legs was rolled up. A belt hung loose across his waist. He held a thin stabbing sword in his hand.

Did all Sakamakis have a terrible fashion sense?

"Yo," the boy greeted him, in the calmest demeanour possible. Carla was about to say something, as the boy pointed his sword at him, jabbing it in his wound as he spoke, "Ya'll think it's easy to waltz in our property like that? Ore-sama will show you your place, you bastards."

Carla's blood boiled in his veins, as he pulled out his own sword, pushing the lad's sword away in distaste. "What the hell do you think, you can point your sword at a Founder and get away with it?"

"Oh, I tend to get away with a lot," he said, as the other one laughed. "Gesundheit," he said and whistled.

Within the blink of an eye, the one called Ayato was behind Carla, stabbing his sword against his waist, but Carla dodged at the right moment, only to turn around and tackle the boy to the ground. Shin quickly transformed into his wolf form and bit on the fedora guy's left hand hard. The boy shrieked, kicking Shin in the chest. He rolled over but stood back up, and pounced on his opponent. Carla pointed his sword at the Ayato guy, relishing as he gained the upper hand. Not thinking much, Carla pierced the bottom of his chest, rejoicing in the tortured scream Ayato emitted. Blinking away the tears, Ayato took his sword and jabbed it right into Carla's right hand. Carla was shocked with the immense pain he felt, as he stumbled backwards. Ayato held his sword at an arm's length from Carla, as he demanded, "Why the hell did ya come here?"

Ayato was barely keeping his balance. Carla knew that he was rapidly losing blood because of his strike. What Carla didn't know, was that the boy desperately needed to drink blood, but he couldn't, for a naive girl would rather go exploring in the woods than grant his needs.

Carla smiled slightly, as though declaring war upon them. He said in a collected voice, "That human girl, Komori Yui? I intend on making her my bride."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the chapter and leaving kudos. I hope you enjoyed this asmuch as I enjoy writing these chapters. <3


	9. Chapter 9

Blurry vision coupled with hazy sensation. Yui could feel a numbness inside her body, as though she were rapidly losing existence, bordering over the mortal world and the supernatural realm. Her hands ached to feel someone's touch, as she tried to lift them in a futile attempt. Her hair fell on her forehead, messed up with the little encounter she had with Yuma. Her chest felt exposed to the warm night, sweat beads rolling down either side of her torso. A dull pain made her aware of the presence of Reiji, unclear, vague, incomplete, hanging over her like a scavenger bird feeding off the entrails from a rejected prey. She barely heard her sternum being cracked open, blood spraying over the grey-haired vampire, as he ignored it and started to cut her lower ribs with a bone cutter. That was when she became a little clearer about what was happening. Reiji noticed the feeble attempts she tried to make, to show that she was aware. His edges blended into the surrounding, like an old impressionist painting. Her body started to shiver, as Reiji's needle entered her skin.

Subaru's impatient voice shattered her thoughts. "She's moving."

"I've already wasted my monthly anaesthetics supply on her," Reiji said, nonchalantly. "If she does need to survive, she better bite down on it. I refuse to give her any more of my inventory."

Subaru moved into the centre of Yui's vision. Clenching his fists, he growled at him, "What do you use anaesthetics for anyway?"

"I won't use those for selfish purposes, Subaru," Reiji said, cutting across Yui's heart. His expression was unreadable as he muttered, "It's only to ease her pain while I carry out my experiments on her."

"What?" Subaru said as Reiji started to sew the incision shut with a surgical needle. First heart, then bone, then onto the muscle, and finally the skin. Ragged stitches marred across the left side of her chest, bleeding to a minimum. She barely had any blood running in her body anyway. Reiji looked outside, worried. His fingers were fidgeting with the blood bag as he handed it to Subaru. The tsundere looked confused, as Reiji said, "Hold the bag above her heart level."

"Didn't Ayato finish all the bags of blood while she wasn't here?" That caught Yui's attention. Ayato hated drinking bagged blood. To think he'd resort to spoiling his tongue was ridiculous. "Hey Reiji, is this even the right blood group?"

"I appreciate your concern, Subaru, but there's a really thin chance of her surviving this even if I apply all my aptitude to it," Reiji said, calmly.

"Oi," Subaru breathed, and suddenly, Yui felt his hand brush her bangs past her ear, as though in a tender gesture of love. She had learned not to misread the brothers' feelings over the months of her staying with them under the same roof. She knew that the vampires didn't know much other than their need for blood, and their joy in simply seeing her humiliated. The many times she had heard Laito confess his undying love for her, how the brothers had not just been sated with just her blood, but her body and soul as well. She felt like love in itself was a cheap emotion for these heathens to play her around.

She started to lose consciousness even before he uttered the next words.

"Don't die on us," Subaru said, taking off his torn jacket and covering her with it. As he moved towards her, the moonlight caught a glint of his locket, a bronze key that dangled on a black thread, wrapped twice around his neck. Her chest rose and fell in desperate attempts to preserve her life, as a dull sound came from the outside. Reiji inserted a needle into her arm, hooking her up to the blood bag. A sneer crept up the boy's face as he proceeded to ask Subaru, "By the way, Subaru, have you taken a fancy on her?"

Subaru turned in rage. "Ha? What did you say? I do not care about her!" He stared at the dying girl on the makeshift operating table, covered with Subaru's jacket. "She's a nuisance, trouble to look out for. I bet she was exhilarated when those Mukami bastards took her away. Fucking wench." Subaru didn't seem sincere when he spoke out those words, but Reiji wasn't a fan of making the emo kid turn against him, perhaps.

"They broke through the barrier I had reinforced," Reiji said, sounding disturbed. "I'm amazed the barrier even held for so long."

"Reiji," Subaru said, still holding the blood bag above his shoulder, "If those founders broke into our property, what will happen next?"

Reiji took in a breath and sighed. "Laito came up to me with a plan."

"Laito?" Even Subaru seemed shocked. Laito had maybe two brain cells, and both of them were constantly focused on perverted things. Believing that Laito had come up with a plan that Reiji even acknowledged as one was like the sun setting in the east. "What did he say?"

Reiji preferred not to answer. He took off his glasses and rushed to wash his hands in the basin attached to the library. Subaru was left alone with Yui, staring her pallor-stricken face for a long time, while Reiji took his sweet time freshening up. Her neck had been bruised with fang marks and hickeys, probably by his possessive half-brother. Why even bother being so protective about her when she's so fragile that she'll break if you even touch her. If not by ten blood-crazed boys, she will definitely die of old age. She's going to die right here, as Reiji stated earlier. There's absolutely no use in pining over such a woman. Subaru felt a familiar pain as he remembered his mother's screams from the watchtower. Surely, he wouldn't get much from trying to make sure Yui's safety. All women were just like that: they care for you for a while, then just lose their minds when you need them.

"If you intend to look at her like that, I insist you take it to your room." Reiji stood, holding a vial of blue liquid, sounding incredibly annoyed. Subaru looked at him, suddenly feeling a bit more awkward. "Stupid! I'm not looking at her like that!"

"I can recognise those lecherous eyes anywhere," Reiji said, putting the blue vial beside the girl. "I've been living with Laito under the same roof."

"Don't compare me to Laito!" The hothead shouted, punching the table, knocking off some wood as he did. Reiji stood there in shock, wearing his glasses back. "Think twice before ruining my property. I will not tolerate any violations here."

"Humph." Subaru kept the bag of blood on the stool beside him. "Who cares."

"Subaru," Reiji warned, his hands reaching for the blue vial, uncapping it. A vapour-like substance wafted from it, as he proceeded to place the vial under Yui's nose. She took in a breath and went still.

"Do not get out of the mansion until the eclipse is over." Reiji said, turning towards him. Subaru was already grinding his teeth in spite when Reiji instructed him, "And do not rush for Ayato's help if you hear him scream."

Outside, Ayato screamed, as if on cue. Subaru stood there, stiff. A succession of blood-curdling screams erupted outside, undoubtedly in Ayato's terrified voice. A clang of metal against metal, another piercing scream echoed in the air, then dead silence. Walking towards the window, he dared to peek outside. The moon had slowly begun shifting away from the earth's shadow, and the red light shined on them ever so slightly. Ayato's tortured screams kept on increasing in intensity, reaching a crescendo as he heard a definite sound of wet meat falling against the hard concrete ground. Despite what he had grown up to believe, Subaru cared for his obsessive half-brother. Maybe a bit less than what normal mortal or even immortal siblings cared for, but in a tiny corner of his heart, he knew he'd rush to his brother's aid.

Reiji sat down beside Yui. "What a surprise," Reiji said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Wars only happen if a woman is at the centre of a conflict."

Subaru stared in deep horror, as he saw a beaten and gutted Ayato crawl away from a dark figure. Ayato's slim sword lay beside him, shattered into two pieces, his left hand-battered into bits of meat and bone on the ground. It wasn't like Ayato was invincible or anything, not he surely was talented in sword skill. He had also proven to be at least at the same level of Shu or Reiji, the ones considered to be the most capable in the household, if not better.

"Let him engage them for a while, Subaru," Reiji said, pulling out a pocket watch from his school jacket, appearing deep in thought. "Father will soon pay us a visit."

"Father?" Subaru said, his hands clenching into fists. Certainly, that old man had nothing to care about here. He had abandoned his sons to rule over the demon world. As he had always wanted to. The Sakamakis were nothing but experiments to the vampire king. He would push his irrational rules and restrictions over them and expect them to follow them, no questions asked.

The last time Subaru had seen their father was when Shu failed his senior year. Karlheinz had appeared one fine morning, barely greeted his sons, and the next thing Subaru knew was Shu had disappeared. Some months later, Shu came back, clothes were torn to bits, scratches, and bruises adorning his body, as he stumbled into his room and locked himself in. Within that month, three sacrificial brides were drained and left to die. The fang marks were definitely his, but nobody questioned him, except for Ayato, who basically thought every blood container was his to deal with. First of all, they didn't dare to question the person who had lived on the north pole for months and lived to tell the tale. Furthermore, they were never out of supply for brides as well, since numerous satanic cults were more than ready to provide them fresh, youthful, and compliant girls to feed on.

Until the church decided to step in on the business as well, offering the holistic and god-fearing Komori Yui to them.

As the air saturated with more of Ayato's cries for help, Reiji leaned in, staring on the watch in his hands intently. Subaru was slowly beginning to think that Reiji was either holding onto false hope, their father was not going to come just yet. He didn't care for his sons. They could hardly be more than pawns to play with.

Subaru turned on his heels and started to walk away from the library, when an intense light filled the room, overwhelming their senses. Subaru held his place beside Yui, as an overpowering force made him kneel down on his knees. Reiji bent down on his knee as well, hardly meeting any resistance.

"What the hell is happening?" Subaru asked Reiji, panic evident in his voice.

"It is time," Reiji said, as he switched the clock shut and put it back in his pocket. "Do not say disrespectful things in front of him, Subaru. I intend to get out of this situation alive."

"Huh?" Subaru was even more confused than before, as the light around the room condensed before them, as a figure appeared from the source. Subaru took in the sight, long white hair, a large red cloak, stunning magenta eyes like his own.

It was true that Subaru was a spitting image of his father, and he couldn't be any more repelled by the fact. Karlheinz stood before them, in all his glory, a scheming smile adorned on his face. He walked up to Reiji, putting a hand over his head as the second eldest said in a low voice, "Welcome home, father."

"Reiji," his voice was the most musical thing Subaru had ever heard. Their father held an air of refinery around him, the way he walked, talked, the way he even stood still, all comparable to the finest of royalty. His words, though very casually spoken, held a very sophisticated undertone. "You have managed this family better than I ever could."

Reiji was obviously shocked, to say the least. "I am only fulfilling the duty that father has bestowed upon me," he said, sounding complacent. "But I doubt that I will ever reach your glory and splendour."

Karlheinz smiled at him, but Subaru could tell it was all a mockery. That man was incapable of love. He could never show compassion if his life depended on it. And while Subaru was mentally throwing shoes at him, their father glanced in his direction.

"Subaru," Karlheinz said, his words dripping with vanity and pride, "How impressive of you to aid this mortal in her tough times."

"Huh? I didn't..." Subaru started, but before he could continue, Reiji shot him a death glare, his head still under Karl Heinz's gloved hand. Subaru lowered his head. His father walked towards him, and put a hand over Subaru's bowed head. Subaru thought of the most insulting thing he could call his father, and settled in on rapist. If their father was a god, he surely didn't have the power of mind-reading yet.

"I had hoped you be the Adam we were searching for since ancient days, but alas, only harboured misunderstandings and considered this mortal to be your enemy, while she was simply incapable of doing anything aside from following her self-preservation instincts."

"Father," Reiji asked, confused, "Was Subaru an appropriate fit for the role of Adam?"

The smile died from his lips, as their father said, "Subaru was a perfect fit for Adam. He had the best interests of the mortal in his heart, his demon nature only overpowering when his blood lust was clouding his mind, corrupting his intentions." He rubbed Subaru's head like he was a goddamned puppy. "But he masks his real emotions perfectly with anger and false hatred, but obviously you know that, Reiji."

Reiji stayed silent.

"This event that you are witnessing, my sons," Karlheinz continued, "Is one of a kind. It is occurring simultaneously in the mortal and demon realm. While you purebloods are being affected by the eclipse, me and my counterparts in the demon world are being equally affected. That means that the Founders fighting your brethren outside, Carla and Shin, both are fully being affected by the dying moon."

"But father, if they are the First Blood, they wouldn't have much difference in their power, either before or after the eclipse." Reiji was suddenly being vocal, perhaps trying to earn brownie points from their father.

"Our friend Carla has a little disadvantage on his side, you see, Reiji," Karlheinz said, unperturbed by his son's interruption. "It's called Endzeit"

End of time, Reiji thought.

"But that doesn't concern us, does it," he said, withdrawing his hand from Subaru's head. Walking towards the table, he removed the jacket Subaru had covered Yui with, leaving her exposed to him. Months of bites and marks of torture were now visible on Yui's body. He clicked his tongue, holding her by the chin, inspecting her bites. "You could go easy on her sometimes, Reiji," he said, turning her head to reveal several fang marks, some of them superimposed, as though they had been either been trying to remove evidence of previous marks, or they had bitten her several times in a single feeding. "Cordelia's sons are being especially thirst driven these days." Bites from Laito concentrated on her torso, Ayato's possessive marking habit left her breasts bluish and sore in many places. Kanato's little fang marks were found on her hands probably from the times when she had done something to displease him.

"Should tie a dog collar around them," he said, lifting her up by grabbing the back of her neck. And then, in a swift motion, his fangs descended on her neck. The slightest gasp escaped Yui, as the vampire gorged on her blood.

"You..." Subaru started, but Reiji stared sternly at him. Subaru was again forced to retreat, only to watch his father grab the frail Yui by the neck, sucking her dry.

A few seconds passed, and Subaru noticed his hands were wet. Uncurling his fingers, he noticed red half-moons on his palm, dripping with blood. But Subaru had little choice in the matter. Karlheinz might as well deliver Yui to her creator. He could do anything to the sacrificial bride.

"A fine maiden with the most exquisite blood," their father exclaimed, surprising both of them.

"Even though," he continued, "I doubt she would even survive one childbirth. She looks frail as is, and with you boys constantly sucking her, it would be hard for her." He looked at her dying body, and said, "Well, might as well fix her."

Yui cried out as the vampire king dug his fingernails into her neck. Her tortured screams mingled with Ayato's, both created a jarring harmony, which seemed to please Karlheinz. Subaru witnessed quietly as Yui's broken bones were snapped back into place, her bruises, marks, and bites were erased from her skin, as it burned in agony, her damaged heart slowly began to force itself to work again. He put the slightest pressure on her neck, and the contents of the blood bag were swept into Yui's vein in an instant. Her agonising cries slowly peaked, as he gently placed her back on the table. Her pain probably died down with her screams as he kissed the crown of her head. Her expression went back to its peaceful dreamlike state, as sweat beads rolled down her forehead.

"She's been able to survive with a demon heart so far because she always had pure sentiments and selfless intentions." Karlheinz turned to Reiji, a deadpan expression on his face. "What you idiots might suppose is her weakness is her strength. If she tries to outsmart you, she could get killed in an instant."

"I understand, father, but..." Reiji said, but his father cut him off.

"It was Ayato who rescued her, right?" He said in a nonchalant voice, and Subaru noticed how much he resembled Reiji in that moment. "He wasn't really scared of the Founders, or even his own death. He seems to still fight for the life of this mortal, doesn't he?"

Reiji looked at Subaru in confusion. Subaru returned him a bewildered stare.

"And as far as I know, he has taken the most optimum choices this time," the vampire king smiled conspiratorially. "I will make it a little easy on her," he said, putting a hand on her naked chest, right at the heart. The same heart which belonged to his former wife, Cordelia. the same heart he had toyed with and broken. A glow emanated from the girl's skin, almost blinding Subaru out. When the glow faded, Reiji had only one word to say, "Father..."

"There you go," he said, his fangs showing through his smile. "Her limit is now not defined by her blood. Her heart will continue to pump a significant amount of blood so that she can sustain all of you. And the little doubt that she had on her faith? I've fixed it. Now her body can contain that tainted demon heart easily."

Subaru was disgusted. Toying with the naive girl to only make her more vulnerable towards monsters like them. Only the vampire king could stoop down to such low standards.

"Take care, little ones," he said, as his feet hovered above the ground, taking flight, "I have another one to take care of."

With that, they saw Karlheinz descend before Ayato. Carla was surely taken aback, as was Shin who was battling the conniving Laito. Turning his attention towards Ayato, he smiled, and said, "Long time, my son."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

Ayato felt another stab of Carla's sword fall upon his left arm. Battered and bruised, he felt his intestines being dragged behind him as he crawled away from the Founder, crying in sheer pain and agony. His every pore could feel the pain being inflicted on him by his perpetrator, a gnashing torment that destroyed everything in its wake. His nervous ends frayed, he slowly felt his body become numb and insensitive to the torture that Carla inflicted upon him.

He felt stinging tears in his eyes, but he held onto his broken sword, crying out another painful scream. Pain and numbness combined made his surroundings hazy, his senses starting to lose focus, even Subaru's mother's cries for help faded in a distance, as he could only see a piece of his flesh and bone drop down on the ground.

"Whether the son of the vampire king or not, I am going to win," Carla said, jabbing his sword right into his chest, gaining a torturous screech from Ayato. A mixture of blood and sinew escaped from Ayato's chest, his internal organs tumbling out after. Ayato spat on the ground, unable to believe he was alive at this point.

"You," Ayato started, his voice hoarse with the strain he'd put up with during Carla's sadistic assault over him, "You think you will get away with stealing Chichinashi from me?" A peal of sickening laughter escaped him, as Carla looked on in bewilderment. "I was careless and let her wander away from me before. But I don't make the same mistake twice, you bastard. You have ten seconds. I will forgive you right now if you take your tail between your legs, run off and never show me your face again, but if you even fucking touch a hair on Yui, I will personally make sure you regret your meaningless existence. I won't kill you, but you would wish I rather did. You will neither get her blood, nor her body." He paused, taking in a shaky breath. "Her body, her blood, her soul, her very life belong to Ore Sama."

Carla looked at the young vampire in astonishment. Here he was, gutted out, dragging himself on the concrete, not only refusing to ask for forgiveness but threatening him. Raising his sword, he said, "How dare you talk to me like that!"

And he swung, aiming for Ayato's head.

But he couldn't deliver the blow, for a dense white light invaded his vision. Ayato looked at the blinding light, believing this to be a hallucination. He shielded his eyes with his right hand, his hair wet with blood as he touched his face. Soon, through the gap in his fingers, he saw an imposing figure, long whitish hair, huge robes, and a red cape fluttering in the wind.

“Long time, son.”

Anything but this, Ayato prayed to whoever was in heaven or hell. Anything but my father.

“I think you should heed to my son’s warning and respectfully step back,” Karlheinz said, stepping in between. “If you want to go back with both of your legs intact, that is.”

Ayato was taken aback by the sharpness of his father’s tone. He’d only seen that sass and no-nonsense in Shu and Reiji. He stared at the man for a long time as Carla took in the shock of seeing Karlheinz in the flesh. Nobody in the demon realm had seen him in his true form, but most agreed upon the fact that he didn’t have one. He could appear as anything or anyone, as you most cherished dream or your most horrifying nightmare. Falling back on his hands, Ayato saw his father merely flick his hand towards the Founder, and he was sent tumbling down across the estate at a force unimaginable by both immortals and mortals. The shock of Carla’s body impacting the ground was such that Ayato bit into his tongue.

He gulped, his mouth tasting tangy blood on his tongue. Looking up at his father, he said, his tongue heavy, giving him a lisp. “Hey, popf.”

Karlheinz turned towards him, his half-lidded eyes focusing on his son. “Ayato, you look in the best of spirits.”

“Of courf, popfy,” Ayato struggled, maintaining his devil-may-care attitude. “I’f bin great, all fhankf to your niglibenf.” What he meant was I’ve been great, all thanks to your negligence, but fortunately for Ayato, his father barely understood him.

“I’m glad,” Karlheinz said, looking at his son like he had discovered a long-lost treasure. “Well, aren’t you a mess of emotions here. The last time I saw you, you had your leg cut off.”

With his senses fading, Ayato didn’t understand him as well. “Yeah, abfolootly. Fee fucked dem ol.” Ayato thought his father was talking about his mother and her previous lovers, but again, luck was on his side as his father couldn’t understand him a bit.

“You could use a little healing,” his father casually said, waving his hand as Ayato levitated in the air, his feet barely touching the ground. Then began the most painful five seconds of his life.

His arm popped back into his socket. He screamed. His muscles stitched themselves together. He screamed. His spine straightened, snapping pieces of bone back into place. He screamed. His fallen organs fell back into their cavities, as his ribs, ligaments, tendons, and diaphragm, all reassembled. He screamed.

Karlheinz smiled slyly, dropping Ayato’s healed body on the ground, as he heard a yapping at him. Shin, still in his wolf form, chased Laito, as the latter grabbed his right arm, almost ground into mush by the Founder’s sharp canines. Karlheinz flicked a finger at the wolf, and it went flying across the meadow facing the left side of the mansion.

Ayato felt his swollen tongue fall back into his mouth, with ease as the inflammation eased out. He looked at his father, as he expected at least a rap at the back for being irresponsible with his prey. Instead, he felt his father’s gloved hand over his head. “Too much work watching over the sacrificial bride, huh?”

Ayato focused his stare at the ground, memorising the cracks and crevices in the concrete pavement rather than answering his father’s question. Yui was way more high maintenance than other girls sent to them, but those others barely managed to stay alive for more than two months. Whereas Yui... She had that weird self-preservation skill that Ayato never understood. Her caring for the very people who preyed upon her was the most commendable attitude she had. While in a traditional setting, it would be pathetic and weak, amongst the brothers, however, it lent her an advantage. If she had never cared for them, the egotistical Reiji would not have concocted a potion to ensure her survival, when his bitch mother took control of her. If it wasn’t for her selflessness, Ayato would have left her to die with the Mukamis.

Yui’s selflessness was her only weapon, and look where it had landed her into.

“Ah, tragic,” Karlheinz said, as if reading Ayato’s thoughts. “Perhaps we should return her to the church.”

Ayato crossed his brows, looking up. Karlheinz withdrew his hand, and tilted his head, slitting his shockingly bright magenta eyes. “If it’s such a burden to have, why not give it away?” His father said, nonchalantly, “It’s lived with you for long enough, surely it’s time for a change. We’d arrange for a new bride...”

“Stop, father,” Ayato said, brushing the top of his head, as if to dust off his own father’s touch from his body. “Yui’s a person. Stop blabbing about her like she’s some furniture you’re giving to charity.” He dug his nails into the palm of his hand. “She’s a hell of a responsibility. But I’m not giving up on her. If that’s not what you like, then behead me and be done with it.” He paused, looking at his father’s reaction. “But don’t think that my brothers would just let me go like that.”

His father looked at him, his eyes slit. Ayato felt a weight drop off his shoulders as he’d admitted that Yui meant more than a blood bag to him. He looked at the mansion, his eyebrows crossed when his father sighed. “All right,” Karlheinz said, sounding a bit upset and bored. Ayato couldn’t put him at fault, a few months before he’d have had the same reaction if one of his brothers refused to switch up a bride. “If it is your wish.”

A stream of white light blinded him again, as Karlheinz disappeared into the thick night mist, abrupt and without closure.

The first thing his mind focused on was the Founders, who had been tossed aside like ragdolls by Karlheinz. His eyes searched through the night, as he only found evidence in Laito’s obscure form stumbling towards him, almost as if in a daze. Ayato slipped off his torn-up jacket, his shirt shredded and his tie missing. Laito gurgled something as he stepped close to his brother.

“Is your tongue still in your mouth?” Ayato asked, and Laito shook his head. He’d been closer to Carla, so it made sense. Laito reached his mouth with the cuff of his woollen jacket and wiped a bit of blood splatter.

“You’d grow it back, doncha worry,” Ayato said, surprising himself. Since when was he being so nice to his brother?

Laito shrugged, then stumbled back towards the mansion. Ayato looked for signs of distress around, but even Yui’s faint heartbeat told him she was at peace.

Yui...

He rushed back to the entrance hall, where he found Reiji looking down at the carpet spoiled with the gin Shu had dropped before. His eyes were tired, his clothes loosened up, his glove was missing from his left hand. His posture was slightly slouched, as he regarded Ayato with authority.

Damn, he needed a night off.

“I’ll explain later,” Ayato said, his eyes looking at the library. He could feel her breath right from here, hitched into her throat. She was saying something, but it wasn’t clear enough, as Reiji started to complain about his spoiled carpet. Ayato didn’t wait up for Reiji to dismiss him, but rushed towards the library, as he found a piece of wood knocked out by the doorway, Subaru among the bookshelves, busy reading something. Ayato’s eyes travelled towards the wooden table, where Yui was strapped by her arms and legs, her eyes half-lidded, unfocused, her hair splayed out behind her like a halo. She’d probably been changed by Subaru, a flimsy nightgown riding up her haunches as she struggled with her straps.

“Of course, you had to come here,” Subaru said, closing his book shut. Walking towards Ayato, he crossed his arms across his chest. “She’s been calling for you.”

For him?

“What happened?” Ayato said as he heard her giggle in amusement. Subaru ignored her, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His jacket was missing, Ayato noted. “She found some trouble. Her heart almost gave out.”

“Her heart... but what... why?”

“Ayato kun~” she slowly purred, straining against the straps, her legs kicking in the air. “The Takoyaki is salty, I don’t want it.”

Ayato looked at Subaru in confusion. Subaru returned a stoic expression. “Reiji gave her a whole lot of sedatives, now she’s acting like she’s drunk.” Ayato raised his eyebrows in surprise. Yui had never been under influence in their company, and considering her upbringing in the church, he doubted she’d even been drunk.

“A. YA.TO. KUN~” Yui shouted at him, erupting in a weird needy tone. “Why did you lock me up in the bathroom?”

Ayato looked at Subaru, who was shooting a death glare at him. “I can explain.”

“Don’t.” Subaru was curt with his words. “Her stitches have opened up; her blood is leaking. Unless you want me to gorge on her, better seal her wound.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“What?” Subaru said, taken aback. “Stupid. You just get on with it.”

Subaru was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Yui to blabber on about something, but as soon as she noticed he was alone with her in the library. She cowered in her little corner, her hands curling up in her straps, as Ayato stood beside her, his head tilted to the side as he tried to understand her emotions. “What happened?”

“Are you going to punish me again?” she said, pouting. He raised his eyebrow, expecting it to be bad. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” she said, swiftly avoiding the topic. Ayato noticed her neck, smooth and pale, unmarred by fang marks.

“What happened to your marks?” he asked, but he already knew the answer. Karlheinz had healed her just as he had healed Ayato.

“It hurts,” she said, pointing to the left side of her torso. He could see damp, warmblood staining under her heart, seeping through the thin fabric of her nightdress. He felt a bit awkward but slipped the thin strap holding her dress up.

She was healed from inside out, her malnourishment now almost unnoticeable. Her breasts had never been Ayato’s taste, but now they looked a bit healthier, her skin supple and smooth to touch. He shook himself from thinking perverted thoughts, and noticed her stitches were bleeding, even though her wound had closed shut. He looked at her, silently asking for permission.

“What?” she seemed bored and unaware.

“We should cut the stitches,” he said, his mind going back to the lewd thing. Her skin seemed so soft and supple, he just wanted to taste her once. One would be enough for him.

“Yeah,” Yui said, absent-minded. Ayato thought better of explaining it to her and hunched over her chest, pressing his mouth over the bleeding skin. Yui went completely still, as he carefully snipped one of the stitches with his canines, her scent driving him wild, as he licked the puncture from the needle clean of blood. Her blood seemed to have improved in quality if such a thing was even possible. He proceeded to slowly and carefully snip the thread, leaving his healing saliva to stop her bleeding. When he was done, Yui relaxed a bit. He didn’t like her being so stiff when he was only helping her. She looked at Ayato as he lifted his head, fighting his urge to rip into her skin and gulp down her blood. Or worse, fondle her.

“Ayato kun?” Yui said, still hazy with the sedatives, her body so easily pressed up against his, Ayato had to bite down on his teeth to stop him from biting her.

“Hmm?” he whispered, appearing just a bit softer toward her than ever. She was using the same tone, memories of the early night filling his mind. When she had lifted his coffin lid and shut herself with him, allowing him to suck her blood.

But she knocked all sense out of him when she pleaded to him, “Kiss me?”

Ayato jerked back, and judging by Yui’s eyes, she didn’t like his reaction even a bit. “What happened?”

“You’re not in a healthy state of mind,” he reasoned, but his rapid breathing and bothered face seemed to contradict his statement. He wanted to kiss her at that moment, but he knew it would only result in regret. He would soon forget about it, but Yui will harbour it in the back of her mind, and it will make her blood sour.

He chided himself for even thinking about blood.

“You’ve kissed me before...” Yui said, her ragged breathing interrupting her speech. “Twice. Consent didn’t matter to you then.”

He had tried to save her life on both occasions. “That was different.”

“And, what about...” she said, her words slurred, “All the times you’ve forced me to give you my blood?”

Ayato hated her at that moment. She was being way rational than when she’d ever been sober. She was also being true. “What about when you gave your blood to the Mukamis?” he said, his chest resonating with a dull pain as he continued, “They relished in you for months, didn’t they?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” her eyes welling with tears, “They were probably even more malicious than you if it is possible.”

Her chest quivered as he held her face in his hands, cradling it. She burst into sobs, as he wiped her tears away. “Ayato kun, you’re so cruel to me.”

Stop it, Ayato said, his dead heart yearning for a taste of her lips. She went on, calling him names, reminding him of times when he had been ruthless to her when he’d pushed her around like she didn’t matter.

She finally said, “Fine,” shaking her head to get away from his touch, “Suck my blood, take away the sedative from my system. I want to be aware when you kiss me.”

He hated himself for even considering it. She drove a hard bargain. Her sweet blood, her rosy lips, how would he refuse either of them?

He lifted her strap back in place, as she cried out in desperation. "Ayato kun!" she said, struggling against her bonds, “I’d never kiss you while sober.”

He almost laughed. “Am I that undesirable?”

She said, her voice dropping down. “You’ll just treat me like a blood bag when I come to my senses.”

“Maybe.” He was sure of it. He wouldn’t hurt her now because there was no point when she didn’t feel humiliated about it. He still didn’t want to think about kissing her.

“Why don’t you do it?” she said, her voice fading, as the sedatives kicked in. Her eyes drooped down, her mind going back to whatever dream she was awakened from.

He held her chin, and turned her head, exposing her neck to him. Taking in her aroma, filling it in his lungs. “Because I want to give you a choice for once,” he smiled to himself, his thumb rubbing against her lower lip. “Your blood, your body, your soul, all belong to me, but I have to earn your love.”


	11. Chapter 11

Yui was amazed how quickly she had recovered. She was sitting in front of her dresser, getting ready for her night school. There used to be bruises, bite marks and hickeys from the ten vampires all over her body, but now she wore untarnished, smooth skin. Even her emaciation had reduced a fair bit, even the bones she had broken living in the Mukami household were snapped back into place. She wondered if the boys did some satanic ritual on her to heal her body. She looked at her dresser, a little box of chocolates kept on the shelf, a little card on the box taped, with lazy handwriting declaring You're our little bitch chan! Laito never changed even a little bit.

She'd started brushing her hair, when she felt her curtains move just a slight bit. She sighed, as a chair was dragged to the dresser and Ayato sat down like it was his goddamned space. Well, technically it was his space, she was somewhat of a refugee or a guest, but Yui now hated to use the actual word to describe her situation. Captive. She'd ran through scheming uncles, resurrected mothers, evil families who kidnapped her from her kidnappers, and more kidnappers who tried to kidnap her from her kidnappers. She didn't seem to catch a break from all this mayhem.

"Chichinashi," he sang out, his chin on top of his chair's backrest. She ignored him as she brushed her hair, looking at the time on her table clock.

"Hey Chichinashi," he insisted on being heard. Yui sort of had an idea as to why he was in her room in the first place, and the idea screamed Give me your blood.

She knew it would be disastrous to ignore him at this point, but she'd be mercilessly sucked dry anyway. Ayato had ignored her mostly at school, on dinner times and he'd never pulled her aside to feed on her during the past week. Reiji had drunk from her the day after the Tsukinamis left them in peace. He'd called her to the library and simply bit her, all the while chiding her for being foolish and letting Yuma bleed her out. She wanted to clear out that it was actually Ayato who drank from her that night that probably left her anaemic, but he wouldn't listen to her, so she didn't bother. Kanato had bitten her on her arm as punishment for making the brownies soggy. Laito had his little misadventure with her in her bedroom, as he left his fang marks on the underside of her thigh. Shu and Subaru had gone to great lengths to avoid her.

But Ayato was just enjoying her become irritated every passing minute. He'd become a bit violent during the past two or three times, usually verbally abusive, but as long as she didn't become extremely pushy, he didn't push her into the wall, as he always did before.

"You dare to ignore Ore sama?" He snatched the brush from her hands, and she expected the worst to happen. Instinctively shutting her eyes, she waited for him to push her chair backward and straddle her.

"Oi," Ayato said, snapping his fingers before her. "You alright?"

"Ayato kun," she said, trying to sound as casual as she could, "You haven't gotten ready yet."

He was still in his red hoodie, his shocking red hair in a bird's nest. He'd gotten all of them late to school for about three times a row this week. If he ran late this time, Reiji was sure to punish him. He sighed indifferently. "Whatever, I'm going to need you to tutor me."

Yui's eyes widened in surprise. Ayato had never been interested in studies. He had, though, been an avid basketball champ, with his height and his immortal skills. Apart from being overtly obsessive and randomly violent, he was only talented in sports, and though it was achievement enough for Yui to consider, Reiji seemed to think otherwise.

"Tutor you?" Yui asked, blinking to make sure this wasn't a dream. She didn't pinch herself, for even in her dream Ayato would hurt her for not taking him seriously.

"I've fallen to the bottom twenty this time, and if I don't score above the permissible credit, they would strike my name off from the basketball team." He said, his eyes suddenly fluorescent. Under normal circumstances, he'd just either say "let me suck your blood” and then forcefully suck her anyway. But this time he was asking for... study assistance.

"I actually have an assignment this week," she said, half lying. The assignment wasn't due till the end of the month, so she had plenty of time to squeeze in a little tuition time for him. But she wasn't sure if she really wanted to stay with him for extended periods of time so that he might also have a reason to bite her.

"Are you trying to avoid helping me?" he asked, and Yui felt a little stab in her heart. She didn't like lying, and he was making her sound like a heartless person. "Ayato kun..."

"I'll do anything if you agree to help me, he said, getting up from the chair and making himself comfortable on her bed. She found it a bit intrusive when she didn't allow him to lie down, but she really didn't have any authority over him.

"Anything?" she asked, and she sounded exactly like a little kid who was allowed to pick any sweet from the candy store.

He got up, leaning on his elbows. "Yep."

She got up, her head a mess of thoughts as she knew what she wanted from him, but she didn't know if he would really agree upon it.

Intertwining her fingers together, she said, her voice barely a whisper, "Would you let me call my father once?"

Ayato's face hardened. Obviously, she'd pissed him off. "Ayato kun..."

"You're still worried about your father, who dumped you here only to be fed upon by monsters like us? Who's not tried even once to contact you in months? You show him such loyalty but run off with the Mukamis, sharing your blood with them, letting them violate you..."

"Ayato kun!" she said sharply. She knew he'd never get over the fact that the Mukamis feasted on her and she did nothing about it. He'd barely ignored the fact that every now and then his own brothers would devour her blood. She knew where their conversation was headed, as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, stared into her eyes intently and said, "If you dare raise your volume against Ore sama..."

The rest was implied, however she felt, she could fill the blanks in. As he let his fingers untangle from her hair, she choked on her tears, holding them back. He'd barely interacted with her in the past month, never bothering to even check up on her as she recovered. The others, though still their usual selves, had somewhat softened around her. Save for Ayato. Now she realised he was even a bigger jerk than before, refusing her to hear her father's voice even when he promised her anything.

"Forget about the tutoring," Ayato said. His expression was weirdly stoic, it didn't suit him at all. She was used to seeing his prideful, egotistical smile and his snarky comments. His detachment made him seem more like the stern Reiji. She hung her head in shame, as he exited the room. Her eyes welled up, but she quickly wiped them away, resuming to get ready for the night school.

* * *

Laito was waiting for Ayato as he exited Yui's room, and judging by Laito's expression, he knew how the "talk" went with her.

"I told you, sucking her blood and then sleeping with her was still the best option."

"Fuck you," Ayato said, desperate to get away from her presence. Laito was dressed for the night school already, so he had plenty of time to waste on Ayato.

"We're brothers," Laito said, sounding indifferent.

"I should never have listened to you." Ayato said, rushing towards his room. "Whatever problem I present to you; you tell me to fuck with it."

"Bet you, she'd have been much more compliant if you just gave her the sweets with your name written on it." Laito started to follow Ayato as he threw open his door, and fished out his night school clothes. Ayato looked at Laito, already comfortable in his coffin, and remembered how Yui must have felt when he intruded upon her privacy. "Just leave me alone."

"Only if you agree on it." Ayato liked his brother most of the times, but he was a bit pushy when he decided to show how important he was.

"No," Ayato said, hurriedly throwing on his uniform. He didn't like how Laito looked at him when he changed, but he knew that telling him to get lost will only be unheeded by him.

"She must have felt some sort of happiness if only you'd been brave enough to present the gift yourself," Laito argued.

"Laito, I'm not Kou," Ayato said sternly. "I don't buy people's affections."

"Then why even bother to give her the chocolates?" Laito was unconvinced.

Ayato opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. The real reason was, he felt sort of warm and fuzzy as she received the gift from Laito, the sweet twinkle in her eyes as she held the box in her hands. He'd gone through the pain of asking Kanato about the best sweet shops around them, waiting for hours in the line before he got his box because god forbid, he can't steal a gift, rushed to the mansion in time, thought of giving it to her in person but refused because of his fucking pride. And then there was the task of making Laito agree to gift it under his name because sure another person wouldn't do it without letting their mouth run free with the spicy gossip. Ayato is a little boy in love. 

And though he wouldn't admit it, every second of it was worth seeing her goddamned smile after seeing her suffer because of him and his brothers for so long.

"Why even bother to coerce her to study with you," Laito said as he rolled to his side, "Why not invite her on a date instead?"

"Because she'd most probably reject me." And Ayato had a fragile ego to start with. He'd not be able to suffer rejection.

"Aww, Ayato kun," Laito seemed to rejoice in Ayato's suffering. "No girl would refuse a date with you."

"I don't think Yui really wants what I would do if I just went straight for it..." Ayato hated the sound of that sentence. It made Yui sound like she was a prude. He decided to reframe his idea. "I think I intimidate her."

"That's the point, you're a vampire."

"And I don't want her to be afraid of me."

"I'm not well versed in that area," Laito stated, clicking his tongue.

Ayato sighed. He hated himself for being so full of himself. Maybe Laito was right. Maybe he should have simply given her the box of chocolates and asked her on a date. Yui was a pure one at heart, she'd have at least given him a chance before rejecting him. It would be fine if he was straightforward in his approach.

Laito raised his eyebrows as he saw a shadow all upon them from the hallway. Ayato turned to look at the door, and someone knocked.

"Come in," Ayato said, his hands struggling with his tie.

The door was pushed open, and Yui's head peeked in. "Ayato kun... oh, I didn't see Laito kun here," she said, her voice a bit choked, as though she'd been crying. "Good morning."

Laito pretended to doze off. Ayato didn't like his stupid attitude. "Be a bit polite."

Laito giggled, and propped his chin on the heel of his hand. "Mornin', bitch chan."

Yui entered the room, a bit awkward as she asked Ayato, "Can we talk?"

Ayato looked at the time. "Can't it wait?"

Yui noticed the tension in the air, and said, "It's okay," she sounded a bit disappointed. "I think we should go."

Laito jumped from Ayato's coffin, and said, "Of course, we should." He walked out of the room before Yui could, leaving both of them alone, the room barely lit by the hallway light.

"Yui," Ayato said in a stern tone as she turned around. "I have time, what is it?"

She turned in surprise, amazed at how bipolar he could be. "But you said..."

"You really want to discuss private matters in front of Laito," Ayato said, although he knew it wasn't anything private. Yui had probably come to apologise.

"I..." she stuttered, not being able to put her thoughts into words. "I think it would be good for you to study with me for a bit. I'd get to revise for the mid-terms as well."

"I told you to forget about it." He really wanted to accept the damn offer and spend some time with her, but he wanted her to apologise first.

"I don't want anything," she said, nervous. "I don't want to call my father; I can deal with it."

"Great for you," he said coldly. "Now move, you're in my way." He pushed her aside, walking off towards the hallway. Why did he want her to apologise, when he was acting like such a giant douche towards her? He shook his head, and decided he'd ask her politely the next time. She loved to study, so maybe it will be a great time for her if she tutored him.

Unknown to him, a smile automatically crept into his expression.


	12. Chapter 12

Reiji put down his book by his side, looking at his brother with contempt. First Laito, then Shu. Both were undoubtedly shrewd and calculating. Had their father not interrupted them during their confrontation with the Tsukinami brothers, they would have killed or at least hurt the Founders. And now Shu, walking in with a proposition like that...

"Why do you think I should follow through?" he asked, as Shu rolled over on his stomach, lounging on the couch in their library. Reiji had just finished filing up their house taxes, and it was almost time for his tea. And here was Shu, walking in on him like he was invited. Reiji slammed the book he was reading on the table in front of him, interlacing his fingers and propping his chin on them. Shu breathed slightly, his hands taking off both the earbuds from his ears, and standing up. "Do you want it or not?"

"Excuse me for being rude," Reiji said, pushing his glasses back, "But I must inquire as to why you are only interested in this issue right now. Mother has been dead for decades. Why now?"

"Because I want to." Shu said, keeping his palms on the table, leaning onto it. "I think you could need some closure."

Reiji looked at him with an amused expression, and laughed heartily. "And who would give me the closure? You? Of all people?"

Shu shut his eyes, and insisted. "Mother wasn't good to any of us."

"What makes you think that?" Reiji barked, his fury reaching another level. "Our mother was the ideal woman, a devoted wife. Lord knows why she favoured you over me. Her only flaw was trusting the wrong people, first our father, then you."

"Reiji!" Shu shouted at him, slamming his fist into the table. A wooden chunk fell off. "Do not forget that I'm the eldest. Talking about me in that tone will not be tolerated."

Reiji smiled, tilting his head. Shu's anger had flared up even more, but he somehow controlled it.

"I hope that you know," Reiji said, his voice laced with poison, "That being the eldest means taking responsibility. Being the eldest does not simply mean that you get to boss people around." He paused, then added, "It does not mean wallowing in your pain and being depressed for decades because a worthless village was burnt down."

That was the last straw, as Shu grabbed Reiji by the collar, smacking him into the table, splitting it in half. Reiji lied still for a moment, then looked up and hissed at Shu. Grabbing onto his shirt, Reiji smashed him once, twice, thrice onto the floor, snarling like a beast, ultimately throwing him into the bookshelves behind them. A landslide of books fell upon Shu, as he met with the shelves. Reiji's shirt was torn, his hair messed up, his glove missing. He had also dropped his glasses in the commotion. Straightening himself up, gathering his bearings, he got down on his knees and started to look for his glasses.

"Reiji san," he heard a thumping of shoes as someone climbed to his library with light steps, and turned to see the mortal woman standing by the door, ready for night school.

"Please excuse me," Reiji said, his hands feeling against cool metal as he finally found his glasses. Pushing them against his nose, he looked into her direction, saying in a composed manner, "You need to give us some privacy."

"But Shu san is..."

"My brother and I are discussing important matters," Reiji said, trying hard to be indifferent and not just pounce on the naive girl for interrupting them. "You may leave us and wait for our arrival in the limousine."

Shu removed the pile of books blocking him, and his glare settled onto Yui. She, for some reason, stumbled back, her breath hitched in her throat. Reiji noticed the apparent awkwardness as she walked backwards, Shu giving her a murderous look. She faced Reiji, stumbling upon her words. "I need to rush, I'm getting late." Her legs must have been fuelled on adrenaline, as she was gone in an instant.

Shu moved the mess of books over his fallen body, his cardigan and jacket hanging over his shoulders like a cape. The oaf didn't even bother to slip his arms into the sleeves. Reiji felt another murderous intent boil in his heart, but he decided against acting upon it. He was too well mannered to attack someone from behind. His father, though not a great husband, was his ideal, and he wasn't ready to sink below his expected standards. Picking up his book, he flipped a page open, and started towards his room, his eyes fixed on the words scribbled inside, in the margins. His father's journals were the only thing that reminded him that he had a reputation to hold up. Unlike his useless brother, he wasn't ready to throw it all away for some worthless human life.

"Reiji," Shu called out to him, waiting a few steps behind him. "If you walk out on this, never expect me to revisit you on this issue."

Reiji kept on walking, his eyes glued to the words his father had printed in the margins of the old book, his entire attention focused on those little tiny words.

"Reiji!" Shu said in frustration, "Do you want to resurrect Mother or not?"

Reiji turned sharply, his expression so furious that it betrayed his sophisticated demeanour and posh mannerisms. "Of course I do! You think I do not want her to suffer till death as I initially planned?"

Shu shut his eyes, possibly due to exhaustion, as he said, "You're clearly not in a great mood." Pushing past him, he said, "I'll meet you tonight with my prospective. See you, little brother." Reiji huffed, as he saw his elder brother walk away with whatever he wanted again; and this time, it was his agreement.

* * *

Yui sat in the limousine, silently staring into nothingness as she grabbed the cranberry juice from the cup holder and stabbed the straw mechanically, bringing it to her lips and taking in a long gulp. She felt a shudder down her spine, as the rest of the brothers stared at her in silence. Subaru was, however, staring outside his window, lost in some thoughts. Laito was staring pointedly at her, his eyes scrutinising her every move as she slurped the liquid down her throat. She tolerated her perverted gaze, until she realised what he might be imagining in his mind to look at her like that.

She threw the drink on the floor, staining the red carpet with dull crimson as the tetra pack spilled its contents over, pooling into a shallow puddle. She hacked into her fist, as she heard Laito click her tongue at her. "Poor bitch chan, you want me to give you a mouth to mouth, don't you?"

She felt her throat raw as she coughed into her fist, glancing towards Ayato, sitting beside her with a blank expression. He was probably still angry at her, so she didn't push him any further by asking him why he was still holding her responsible for his anger. The red-haired vampire withdrew his gaze from her, choosing to stare at the ground beneath his feet instead, his eyebrows still knotted as if in annoyance.

She thought better than answer Laito's question. Whatever route she took, she was bound to end up bleeding. Why even bother wasting energy on saying and answering to things when you could just bear it with keeping your mouth clamped shut while they ravaged her body and drained her blood.

"Look at the mess you've created!" Kanato screamed at her, his temper reaching its paramount as he threw the pack lying near him at Yui, who shielded herself against the attack by outstretching her arms and holding out her palms. Subaru, who was done with all this nonsense, shouted above the commotion Kanato was creating. "You hysteric! Keep it down!"

"Who are you calling a hysteric, you albino mouse?" Kanato demanded hoarsely, his fingers digging into the leather seat beneath him.

"Now that's new," Laito said, whistling. "Why is Subaru a mouse?"

"Because only mice attack and seek attention at the same time." Kanato looked at the white-haired brother and said in a harsh tone. "Nobody else could be as bipolar as Subaru."

Subaru turned his head towards Kanato, a sneer adorning his face. "At least I have the power to stop weird halfblooded masochists when they try to burn my teddy into ash."

Kanato stared at him in anger, before bursting into sobs. He shouted incomprehensible accusations on Subaru, who didn't bother to either listen or understand.

"Now, now, Kanato kun," Laito said, his voice sympathetic, "Don't shed tears over Subaru's words. After all, his teddy was saved by our father, and he hasn't experienced the loss of a toy as you have."

Yui's attention perked as Laito uttered those words. She understood the subtext in which Laito mentioned that sentence, and she leaned forward and asked, her voice frail and unsure, "Laito kun, what did you say? Your father saved me?"

Among the racket Kanato was creating, Yui didn't notice as Reiji and Shu climbed the limousine in silence. Until she repeated again, noticing Laito become uncomfortable at her words, "Laito kun, who saved me?"

"I would appreciate if we proceeded to the school in silence, Miss Komori." Reiji was acting weird. He never addressed Yui using her last name. He didn't believe in naming his blood source and giving it any dignity. Everybody was acting weird, everybody was keeping secrets from her, and it made her paranoid. What else could she not know that could potentially save or endanger her life? Because she didn't know anything about Cordelia and her relationship with her sons and step sons, she had almost brushed shoulders with death itself. Keeping secrets, she realised, would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to her.

Raising her voice by a decibel, she said, "I want to know what happened the night I was unconscious."

"I would like you to die in silence," Shu said, his baritone surpassing her frail voice. She felt a dread settle in her stomach as she noticed Shu's gaze trained over her, and she beat down all hopes of uncovering the mystery of her miraculous healing. She tried to repress the sudden image that invaded her mind, of Shu, feeding on her blood like a hungry animal, invading her personal space, touching her in places she did not want to be touched. She saw Reiji notice her panicked expression and lowered her eyes.

Beside her, Ayato seethed with frustration, knowing full well what was bothering her, and devising a plan to take his own sweet revenge from Shu for daring to touch Yui. He couldn't let that attack on his property slide off, though he was an elder brother, yet he deserved to be taught a lesson.


	13. Chapter 13

Kanato knew he was in a dream, just from the fact that he had his teddy by his side. His small hands felt his teddy's plush fur bristle against his own clammy hands, as he looked up into the void surrounding him. He laughed nervously at himself, saying, "What sort of fantasies am I having?" Stepping forward, his feet dipping into mush, dissolving around his shoes like clear water, but muddy beyond areas of his contact. He clutched his teddy harder, as he noticed the familiar stench of decay and death around him, engulfing him into a nostalgia that he longed to forget. He trudged forward, with his arms outstretched, feeling for the walls or railings, whatever he could grab around in the dark. How come he couldn't see? What was so dark around him that he, being a creature of the night, couldn't perceive it? He racked his head for answers, but found none, even when he reached the edge of the mush, his foot striking against a stone pavement. The world suddenly came to life, as the light flooded his vision, bringing forth a migraine in his head. He was knocked to his knees, as he realised where he was.

A familiar sense of dread filled his heart, as he was already clawing back towards the way he came from, his school shirt and jacket messed from rolling in the muddy water beneath him. It was no less than a dungeon from his childhood. The sewers beneath the castle. Dying humans and their corpses lay behind iron bars, sucked dry to the bone, their paper-thin skin now bluish white from the complete exsanguination. He'd never been to the sewers after his mother died. It was always a harrowing experience. Not because of the bodies littered around in the prison cells, but because of another fact, something he had shoved in the back of his mind for so long.

Despite him running, he found himself in a dingy cell, locked from the outside. His first instinct was to scream for help, but his calls soon turned to sobs when he saw the scene in front of him.

There was his mother, naked, as always, her mouth smudged with crimson blood, and as always, an unknown male on top of her, both of their bodies moving. He shut his eyes, he turned away, dropping his teddy in the process. His mother must have noticed him, because she started uttering something in her unintelligible speech, slurred by the increased intoxication of blood and years of vocal disuse. Her tongue betrayed her as she tried to form the words that Kanato knew very well, in fact, they were engraved in his memory, etched in the stone walls of his conscience. He might as well have the same words carved into his gravestone when he died.

"Kanato," his mother gained the power of speech, her voice hoarse and scratchy, "My songbird, will you sing a song for mommy?"

Kanato screamed at the top of his lungs, waking himself up. His hands clutched the edge of the desk he had snoozed off on. Drenched in cold sweat, he looked up to see Ayato, confused and worried. They were in the empty class, Kanato's books by the table.

"Oi, Kanato," Ayato said, his eyebrows knotted in concern, "What happened?"

Kanato shook his head. When he'd confessed it to Ayato about their mother and her numerous lovers, he had been furious. Ayato didn't have a soft spot for his mother, but he didn't stand anybody disrespecting her. Since then, Kanato had endured night after night, as he was dragged by his mother, into the depths of the sewers, where his mother relished in blood and lust alike. He'd be forced to sing for her as she did unspeakable things with her partners.

"Hey," Ayato said, becoming irritated. "If there's nothing worrying you then what's making you sweat?"

"Stop it Ayato," Kanato barked, silencing his older brother. He grabbed his books, looking at the wall clock in the classroom. "I better go," Kanato rushed as he swiped the books on the table, impatient to get out of the strangulating atmosphere.

"Kanato..." Ayato shouted at him as he disappeared from his sight.

***

Ayato looked at the hallway in defeat. What had gotten Kanato in such a twist? His little brother rarely became so restless, unless it was about sweets or cakes. He realised that he had been waiting for the limo to come, and so he rushed towards the exit, his heart suddenly pumping, restarting from its slumber.

He didn't really realise what made it race, but as he traversed the hallway and reached the little garden the school called front lawn, he realised what it was.

Hidden behind a shadow of shrubbery and trees was Yui's hunched figure, giggling. Her scent invaded his senses, and he took a step forward towards her, as stealthily as he could. The human couldn't see him as well in the dark, but he could. Her long legs, her blond locks waving in the cool night breeze, her skirt billowing, and his perverted mind wanted it to blow off a little harder.

As he crept closer, he felt a bit ashamed. Maybe he should just tell her to rush back to the limo. Maybe he should scold her for being so loud outside the premises. He clutched his throat, feeling a certain rage at himself. The blood substitute Reiji had prescribed him was only working to curb his thirst when he was away from her presence. In her vicinity, the scent of her blood overpowered him, forcing the monster out of him.

Unable to help himself, he asked in a gruff voice, "Yo, Chichinashi?"

She turned around, and her skirt billowed in the wind, giving him a glimpse of what he wanted to see. Oblivious, she squinted, as though unable to see him in the dark. The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile as she said, her manner unconcerned, almost childish, "Ayato kun! You here?"

He came into her view, a dim street lamp illuminating his perfect features as he said, slouched and casual, "Of course, you stupid. I'm here to get you."

She stopped her childish fidgeting as soon as he said that. He knew what she must have been processing. School was a relatively safe place for her, as nobody dared to bite her in presence of teachers and students. Even while she was alone, Reiji had struck down strict rules to stop the brothers from preying on her in the school. Now that she'd be going to the mansion, she'd be exposed to the vampires in their den, and they would have her whichever way they want. He remembered the scars, the marks, the injuries she had endured during the past few months, and he felt a bit furious at himself for the fact that he had been responsible for the pain of such a precious little girl, who'd sacrificed herself for his safety once.

He looked at her, her lowered eyes, her pretty blond hair, her lips. He'd been so caught up with his conflicting emotions that he didn't see how the Tsukinami attack had affected her. He'd heard her screams as Laito had entered her room and drained her yet again, he had also heard as she sobbed into her pillow, crying herself to sleep. Laito was becoming more and more sadistic nowadays, as he didn't bother to clean up her wounds with his saliva anymore. He understood it was partially due to being jealous, Laito was not immune to being possessive as now Ayato sought ways to win Yui's attention. And partially because he held Yui responsible for making Ayato act like a hormonal teenage boy. She wasn't entirely to blame. Karlheinz had done something to both of them. Perhaps his father wanted Yui to be Eve, and Ayato just happened to fill out as the Adam. Perhaps it was all a passing attraction, that made him empathise with her suffering.

She seemed to shake off the worry written all over her face as she smiled slightly at him. Her kind gesture disarmed all the insults and belittling comments he was about to throw at her, and he became increasingly aware of the fact that she steadily closed the distance between them, stepping silently towards him.

"Why were you here?" Ayato said, his breathing harsh and quick, his tongue forcing him to say anything to lift the tension around them. Anything.

She lowered her lashes, and smiled to herself, as she said, "Nothing."

Ayato knew she was playing with him, so he grabbed her elbow and demanded in as threatening voice as he could muster up in the moment, "Hey, quit that coyness!" He twisted her towards him, as their bodies connected with each other, and it felt so natural that neither of them cared to step back to give each other some respectable distance. Perhaps he had not been stern enough, as his action gained a laugh out of her, her playful as she had ever been. It ignited his rage, as he demanded further, "What do you think you are, you pesky human!"

"Ayato kun," she said, her voice dripping with honey as she spoke, "Don't worry so much!"

Ayato didn't understand why she was behaving like this. But then, he saw a little grey bunny peek at them from the bushes, and then disappear from view, giving him enough reason to jump forward, forgetting that he still held Yui in his arms.

They both toppled over, spinning as they crashed into the wet grass beneath them. Yui was caged between his arms as he shielded her from his own body. Laughter full of mirth escaped Yui, as she watched the bunny jump towards them, in curiosity as the baffled vampire and the oddly happy teenager lay in the ground, only a streetlight illuminating them.

Ayato tested the waters first, letting his body engulf her as he fell softly into her embrace. For three long seconds, they were silent, only crickets around them periodically breaking the silence around them. He was acutely aware of her touch against his bicep, her fingers grazing against his hard skin. Then, her meek voice woke him up from his fantasy, where he had already ripped her clothes off her. "Ayato kun." A plea. The softest breath escaped her as he lifted his hooded eyes, feline gaze watching her earnestly. Then, in a split second, he found his head resting on her shoulder, finding home in the nook of her neck. An overwhelming wave of emotions ripped through him, as he realised how she submitted to him, her hand snaking around his shoulder and his neck, hooking around his head.

"You've not drunk one drop this week, Ayato kun." Her words shocked him, as he lifted his head to look at her, her eyes half lidded, her lips quivering at the very thought of the pain he was going to inflict on her. The rest was just implied, her words buried in the hiccups rapidly turning into silent tears.

He blinked back his tears of shock, as his voice earned a raspy, cruel edge, "You're nobody to tell me whether I need to drink or not." He growled with anger as he tore at her shirt, exposing her shoulder, his teeth grazing against her skin...

...until she laced her fingers in his hair, guiding him into her body, accepting him.

His will broke as he found himself sob like a child in her arms, head nuzzled in the crook of her shoulder, tears racing from his face to meet her warm skin. His chest shivered as he longed for her touch, and she complied, her hands lifting him off her to inspect his tear stained face. Her thumbs rolled below his eyes. "Ayato kun."

He dove down again, protecting himself in her, his head resting heavily on her chest. The words he spoke were intended to come out scathing, but ended up becoming rather pathetic and cowardly. "Don't tell anyone about this."

She tucked his head under her chin, her legs entangled against him, as she whispered an agreement. His hands went down to wrap around her waist, bringing her frail body against his as he sobbed into her skin. They lay in the grass, for long, undisturbed moments, interrupted infrequently by Ayato pressing his lips on her sweat glazed skin, wanting to taste more but never discovering further. Like an animal on a short leash, he licked and sucked and bit, but never tore through her, either for the fear of scaring her away or drinking her to death in the heat of the moment. Her hands travelled and caressed his face and shoulders, her touch also inhibited by shame and uncertainty.

They settled into each other’s bodies, until even the street light gave out.


	14. Chapter 14

Yui had vaguely remembered a dark figure, telling her something as she waited by the garden outside the school building for the limousine to park in the driveway. She felt her senses dull as she spotted red hair, green eyes, an intruding bunny, and tears.

The first thing she noticed when she came to was the grass, wet with evening dew, blocking her vision. Turning her head, she became acutely aware of the weight on her chest. The literal weight on her chest, as she tried to get up, her eyes still clouded with sleep. Her hands tried to feel whatever was lying on top of her, and she grabbed a mess of hair. An angry sound escaped from the person lying on top of her, as her world came into focus.

Ayato slept soundly on her chest, his hands under her skirt and shirt. As she rolled him off her, she noticed he had drooled all over her chest. She felt a bit awkward as she took her napkin out and wiped her sweat and saliva off her skin. What had they been doing here, of all places? It's not like Ayato had... touched her where his hands had been a few seconds ago. He'd teased her multiple times when he had entered the bathroom forcefully and seen her naked. He made no secret of the dislike of her breasts. But he'd never gone as far as to feel her up.

She hated herself for finding reason in Ayato's perverseness. She should be beating him senseless right now, being furious as to how he did things to her without permission. She shouldn't be curious as to why he touched her in the first place.

Ayato yawned, pulling Yui out of her inner debate. He blinked twice, as his stare settled on the girl. She swore she could see him flash his fangs at her in order to intimidate her. Even in the pitch dark, she could see him run his tongue along his teeth. "Yo, Chichinashi." His voice sounded strained, as though he had been shouting in his sleep. It must have been shouting, because she didn't think Ayato was quite capable of the other possibility.

He seemed to dust off the grass from his uniform, as he got off the ground, and said, "I think we dozed off for too long."

Yui knotted her eyebrows, as she stood up beside him, watching the driveway. Empty. Either the limo was taking too long to come by, or...

"They left us," Yui said, cursing her fate. Her head was ringing with definite migraine attacks as she stumbled and leaned upon Ayato for support. For a change, Ayato lent her his shoulder to grip onto, taking the advantage to bring her closer as he held her waist.

She jumped at the contact, and took a few steps away from him. Her head was a mess of emotions, as she said, "Should we walk back home?"

Ayato didn't say much, but kept walking till he reached the gate of the garden. His face lit up in the glow of a little lamp him the side of the gate as he shouted at her, "Are you as slow as your brain? Hurry up, Reiji will whip us both."

She rushed to join him as he exited the school and they entered the street, a dim crescent moon overhead. She saw stars here, more often than she saw back at the church she lived in. She'd been walking with her head held up as she bumped straight into Ayato's back.

"What the..." Ayato hissed, turning around. He rarely hissed at her, except for when he was feeding from her. He appeared to be pretty pissed, to be fair. His hair had been swept by the billowing wind, his shirt now untucked, his pant leg unrolled to cover his right leg. He hated covering his right knee for some reason. Yui felt the ground give way as Ayato grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him, as he glared right into her eyes. "You feeling all brave and shit, now that you saw me weep into you?"

Yui wasn't sure if she was hearing him correctly. "Weep?"

Ayato slit his feline eyes and grabbed her chin roughly. "You playing games with me again, ain'cha?"

Yui was dumbstruck as she witnessed the look in Ayato's eyes. He was being truthful. He had at some point wept, all within Yui's presence. And Yui didn't remember any of it.

She knew questioning him further would wound his pride, so she settled with her ignorance. "Are we going home?"

Ayato gave her a quick smirk as he let her go. His grip was steel hard, Yui almost felt her jaw would break. She touched the side of her cheek, as though mere touch would heal it right away.

"Funny that you call that hellhole a home," Ayato said, strolling forward. Yeah, it was. She'd been a bit scared every day to go home. At least at school she wasn't preyed upon, ridiculed and mistreated. At least at school she was able to get away without getting hurt.

She stayed quiet, unable to come up with anything. She wanted to answer back, but she had been made into a docile lamb by both the Sakamakis and the Mukamis. She ate when she was told to, she spoke when she was ordered to. And she bled whenever they pleased.

"Don't stay so quiet, say something," Ayato said, bringing Yui out of her melancholic thoughts. She saw his red hair bounce a bit as he asked her that question. Yui didn't have much to say, but she certainly wanted to fill the void that existed between her and Ayato. Rummaging through her memory, she said, "I once was convinced that I was a mermaid."

Ayato guffawed. "You're an idiot."

"I was six," she protested, and skipped the pavement stones, remembering her childhood days. "I didn't have a lot of friends growing up, so I read up on a lot of stories. Father gifted me a book by Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Mermaid. I always used to think why would the mermaid give up on her life as a beautiful mermaid, her speech for but a stupid boy," she laughed a little, but it seemed forced, as though she had realised she was being too open about her life.

"Go on," Ayato said, even his voice coming out a bit uncomfortable. She realised he didn't want to intrude upon her life as well, but wanted to fill that void as much as she did. So she continued. "So I decided to become a mermaid instead." She smiled. "I thought if I only prayed to the sea god, I would get those fins and the tail. So I prayed and jumped into a lake. I didn't know swimming. I struggled for a long time before I lost the courage."

Ayato stopped in his tracks. She paused behind him, scared that she had hit a nerve. She had forgotten that Ayato had trauma attached to drowning. Trying to revert the awkwardness, she immediately said, "But I was saved by a sister who had noticed me. There was nothing to worry about."

He turned around, his shoulders slouched, relaxed. Cocking his head, he said, "I can explain our absence to Reiji. Do you want to visit a church?"

"What?" Yui said, dumbfounded. What was this shift in his behaviour?

"There's one in the next block," he said, nonchalantly. "But make it quick."

Yui's heart did several somersaults. Unable to hide her joy, she said, "Okay."

They didn't have to walk far. Right after the next block, as Ayato had said, there stood a chapel, the doors still open. Yui was a bit sceptical, but she didn't think twice. She had just gotten a fresh air from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the mansion and the chatter of school hallways. She could work with a church that stayed open even after evening.

They entered the premises together, but Ayato pulled her by her elbow, right before she could enter. "Listen, Chichinashi," his voice was dead serious, and Yui gulped. Their bodies were flush with each other, her each breath making her aware of Ayato's hard muscles. "If you try to run from here, try to get help, or expose us in front of them, you won't get out of this unhurt. I will make sure you regret every moment you have defied me if you mess up this time. Understood?"

Yui gulped, her hand twisted behind her, her heart leaping out of her throat in fear. "Yessir."

"Good girl," he said, relaxing his grip on her elbow, but not stepping back. Yui untangled from his grasp and running into the church, trying to make the most of her seven minutes of freedom.

***

Ayato looked at the dull blue glow from the city lights far from the church, his feet shuffling as he waited outside the church while Yui took forever to come back to him. He wondered what good came from praying to a fictional god who had Himself landed you into your problems. He somehow understood the fact that Yui had been brought up like that, but he was amazed as to how she refused to grow out of it. Maybe see for herself that creatures such as them existed only for the absence of a God.

He heard steps rapidly approaching him, as he turned around and saw Yui rushing towards him. Her hair had been messed up and her flower clip had fallen off.

"Was I late?" she said, and wiped the sweat off her brow. Ayato looked at her, and did not say anything.

"Ayato kun?" she asked, her hands behind her as though being formal with him.

"Nothing," he said, his face obviously saying otherwise. "let's go back."

"Go home," she corrected.

"Okay, I hate it when you call that dungeon a home," he said, and started walking away from the church, not standing the holiness of it.

"What issue do you have with calling it a home?" Yui said, following him, her school shoes tapping lightly on the pavement as she softly tried to keep up with him.

"Well, nobody likes you there, for one," Ayato said, his tone becoming annoyed by the second. "Then, there's so many restrictions put on you there. Ayato, don't do this. Ayato, don't speak. Ayato, no mischief or I'll withhold your takoyaki for a week."

She laughed. "Seems like you have more beef with Reiji san than anybody else."

"We don't particularly like each other too much." He blew out a sigh, relaxing a bit in her company. "Laito is bearable though. Although I don't like how he ends up every conversation in some innuendo of sorts."

"Laito kun is bright though," Yui remarked. "I heard he plays piano well."

"So does Shu," Ayato said, not feeling particularly stoked to talk about his brothers. "You favour Laito over me, Chichinashi?"

Yui paused. Perhaps the mention of Shu and Laito reminded her of the sexual assaults both of them had attempted at Yui. She'd been extra cautious after the night Laito had bitten her, because he hadn't just bitten her and left her wailing. He'd attempted to undress her as well. Although he'd told her not to hold hard feelings. Yeah, attempt assault and apologise, and at least he had apologised to her. Others seemed to refuse her any privacy she might have. Ayato hated himself seeing Laito in that tainted light.

"Chichinashi?"

"Sorry," she said, her head feeling a bit woozy.

"Do you feel unwell?" Ayato said, discreetly slipping his hand into hers, carefully interlacing his fingers against hers. Yui was taken aback, but tightened her grip on his hand. For one little moment, Ayato felt that she could lean into his shoulder, forgetting that predator-prey relationship for once.

"No, Ayato kun," she said, a sudden bounce in her steps evident as he pulled her closer, her warmth and his cold merging together. "I'm fine."

"You better be, you know," Ayato said, "I'm kind of worried my bitch mother still might be inside you. Can't have your blood tainted, ya' know?"

He might use excuses to hide his worry, but Yui saw through him, just a tiny bit. "Okay."

Ayato gave her a toothy grin, flashing his fangs. Yui returned that smile back, as they continued to their way home.


	15. Chapter 15

Shu was sleeping soundly on the sofa in the hall. His room was too stuffy for him to go, and although he enjoyed the cosy, closed space his room and his coffin provided him, he did not enjoy the recent sweet smells his room had started emanating at night. He'd woken up in cold sweats so many afternoons as he was reminded of the sickly tangerine smell of the room. He'd even bothered Reiji to get rid of it, but Reiji had chided him by speaking ill of his older brother yet again. He'd gone back to his coffin, dejected, angry, when he decided to damn it all and sneaked away to sleep in the dimly lit hall. As always, a constant symphony played in his mp3, a solemn Bach melody urging him to drift to sleep.

A smell wafted in as he heard the front door open. He was sure of Ayato's steps as he climbed up through the pipe to his room, but he strained his hearing to listen to the soft footsteps of the human. They'd been together, he had been sure of it, and Reiji had even talked about smacking some sense into both of them. Shu would have been glad to see Reiji whip the blond idiot. Ever since he had tried to touch her, she'd cowered around him, and he hated it. He wanted her to rush into his arms, look at him like she looked at his possessive half-brother.

Even though she should have been scared of everyone around her, Yui never tried to resist when Ayato teased her, touched her, grabbed her, or demanded her blood. Everybody in the household was probably sick of avoiding the fact that the bride definitely favoured Ayato to some extent. Which was probably why Ayato was becoming gentle and warm towards her in the first place. He'd caught her chasing after him while talking to Reiji, and felt a pang of certain jealousy, in the way she followed him like a lost animal. His hands ached to rip her clothes off and show her what she's missing by chasing after Ayato. He smiled at himself, and sat up as the human stepped into the hall, her head flitting to meet his gaze.

"Shu san," she said, her voice barely a whisper, but he could hear the urgency in her tone. Like a deer caught in headlights, she stood still, as Shu stood beside her in a flash, his cape fluttering with the midnight breeze.

"Are you playing games with Ayato? Not satisfied with Subaru and Laito wrapped around your fingers, huh?" She shivered as he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. Her eyes were closed, and he shook her violently, grabbing her body flush against his. "Open your eyes or I'll pry your lids off."

She shuddered as she lifted her eyes towards him, her tears on the verge of spilling. It made him ease as he knew he had control over her, something that stupid Ayato couldn't dream in a million years to accomplish. Her tears were because of his terror, and he intended it to be that way. His hands travelled lazily to the curve of her spine, pushing her as close to him as possible. She let out a yelp of surprise, and the hand gripping her chin grew tighter, as Shu ran a thumb along her lower lip. He glared into her teary eyes, and warned her, "If you dare make a noise, I will rip your throat off and bathe in your blood." She whimpered as he rested his head in the crook of her shoulder. She was considerably shorter than him, so without thinking he hoisted her up in his arms, supporting her weight on his forearm, and inhaled deeply. Her smell of honeysuckle and blueberry comforted him enough, and he opened his mouth to take a bite.

"Shu san," she grabbed his collar, her weak hands pushing him, her voice interrupted with sobs and hiccups. He hated this. He hated being interrupted when he was awoken by her, was mad at her for being so stupid as to accept Ayato with open arms when they both knew what he could do with her frail body.

"Oh shut up," he said, his teeth bared, about to take a bite out of her, giving her the pleasure of a lifetime.

Until he felt something sharp against his chest, and searing pain through his sternum.

The sound he emitted was not unlike a human's when they'd touched a hot teacup. Grabbing her short hair, he pulled back as he found her frail hands holding a silver knife against his chest. In the middle of the attempt to bite, he had leaned too close and accidentally cut himself against the tip. Dark blood pooled around the wound, stringy and viscous, as Yui defiantly pushed it against his hard skin. He smiled, amazed as to how this puny, pathetic being could grow smart in such a short span of time.

Throwing her against the floor, he towered above the cowering girl, cocking his head to the side. "That's new."

"Don't touch me," Yui's voice was small, but it was threatening enough. "I'll not hold back if you do."

"How romantic," Shu said, coming down to her level and holding her hands in his iron grip. She shrieked as her knife fell from her hands, falling beside them with a metallic clang, resounding in the dead of the night. He locked her legs in between his, and brought his face close to hers. His ashy blonde hair was wet with the struggle, as she wriggled against him. Spent in her energy, she finally stopped moving, accepting her impending fate, to be used as a blood bag, yet again.

"You ready to put me out of my misery?" Shu said, as she hid from his penetrating gaze. Holding down both of her hands in his left hand, he put a finger beneath her chin and turned her head towards him. Her heartbeat was unbearably loud as his hand meandered to her neck, and she gulped down hard. "If you do kill me, you know they would call it a proclamation of your love for me, don't you know?"

His hand rested on her chest, weighing down on her sternum, as she was drawn out of her breath.

She sucked in a shaky breath as she said, "Do you think I fucking care about you and your pathetic life, Shu san?"

Shu was taken aback by her scathing words. he had never seen the girl swear before. And even though his brothers tortured her every day, she could never bring herself to hate them for some reason.

His vision became spotted with red as he clamped down a hand on her throat. The breath was knocked out of her as she realised his grip around her, his other hand joining to block her windpipe. Eventually, his hands came undone beside her shoulders. Struggling against him, flailing, thrashing as the blond vampire shifted between her legs and ground himself against her. A sigh escaped her as her body betrayed her will, moving against Shu on its own accord.

He smiled, and said, low and needy into her ear, "You won't be able to resist me, and soon you will walk right into my trap."

The euphoria subsided very soon, as Yui's eyes cleared from the haze the dopamine gave her, and she brought her knee against his groin.

A pained sound escaped Shu, as he recoiled away from her, gasping in utter pain, contorting on the cold wooden floor. Her hands swiftly lifted the silver knife fallen beside her and picked herself up, making a beeline for the stairway, her shoes heavily plodding towards her room. She didn't believe her room to protect her from the wrath of the vampire, but in the adrenaline fuelled rush she didn't think twice before turning towards the nearest room, fortunately left ajar, and locked it from the inside. She leaned against the ornate door, taking in shaking breaths before bursting into sobs, covering her mouth and clamping her jaw shut to avoid any sound from escaping herself.

Collapsing on the ground, she felt waves of fear rock her frail body. Her hair stuck to the back of her neck, wet and slick with sweat. She could hear a shuffle of footsteps as a shower switched off. She didn't have much choice other than to wait as the inevitable happened. Wet footsteps closed in on her as she raised her eyes to find glowing green eyes staring at her from the door of the bathroom.

"Can't resist me, can you, Chichinashi?"

* * *

Reiji flitted through the journals, his heart quickening for the first time in days.

He was a mad man, but then he had been robbed of his sleep enough.

Bangs on the floor below alerted him of Shu trying to violate the blood bag yet again, but he didn't care.

His fingers were shaking with every page flip, and he tossed the book yet again in a pile behind him. There had to be a way out of the proposition Shu had given him. No way in hell would he call the old vampire hunter back. Reiji was a strong vampire, he had proven to be more powerful than Shu himself in some aspects, but hunters were something he despised, and to know that he had to call upon the one who had promised to kill him so many years ago was an unsettling thought.

His hair was flipped over his forehead, his tie loosened around his neck, his buttons unravelled to show a smooth, pale chest. He placed his palm flat on his chest as he dropped on the floor of the library, his knees colliding with the hard wood as he heard hurried footsteps run past. He looked outside, as the shadow of the girl moved away from his vision, and he ran towards it. Before he could chase after her, she had already shut herself into Ayato's room.

Shu laboured up the staircase, his shadow stretching across to the library to Reiji's feet. as Reiji swiftly came to stand beside the blond vampire. Shu's figure collapsed right in front of his feet, as Reiji tutted in distaste. "Overpowered by a mere mortal yet again?"

"Shut up."

"You should try fucking the pigs in the nearby village. They're much easier to woo or to force upon, whatever your sick taste is."

"What do you mean?" Shu raised his head as his younger brother got down on his haunches, his raven hair illuminated by the silvery glow of the incandescent lamp in the hall, bringing out a myriad of colours as it shifted in front of Reiji's eyes.

"What I mean is, my brother, you need to stop screwing yourself over that stupid mortal and pay attention to what we have to uncover."

Shu brought himself up against Reiji's eye level. "What?"

"Are you really that dense?" He got up, looking at his fallen brother, and smiling maliciously. "You can have both our mother and that good for nothing commoner Kou if you just help me with this little task."

Shu dusted off his cardigan and said in a surprised voice. "What does Kou have to do with this?"

Reiji walked away from him, tilting his head a bit, laughing at his brother's stupidity. "No more jumping on that defenceless woman, Shu. I need you to report to me in the morning." With that the raven-haired boy was lost in the shadows of the midnight.

* * *

Ayato felt her frail body crash against his chest as Yui ran into his arms, her eyes tear streaked and hands shaking with fear. He hadn't worn a shirt after his shower, only in his pajama pants, so he could feel her body warmth dissipate inside his cold skin as she hid into his embrace. He felt a strange sense of concern as he let her lean into his body. His arms came around her shuddering shoulders, wrapping around them, caging her into him. Yui started to sob bitterly as Ayato picked her up, bridal style. He was amazed how light she was, like a hollow doll. He placed her carefully into his iron maiden, slinking into the cramped space after her. She clung to him as he let her sob into his shoulder, her hot tears running down his body, leaving a trail of wetness behind them.

He cupped the back of her head, and said, his voice incredibly soft. "There, there."

She wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "Why are we in your coffin, Ayato kun?"

"Iron maiden," he corrected. "I don't have a bed, I can't let you lie down on the floor, can I?"

"Why?" she asked, her throat scratchy, her head still resting on the vampire's shoulder.

That left Ayato speechless. Why indeed. "Stop asking questions."

She lifted herself away from Ayato's body, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Her hand was on his stomach, and Ayato was hyperaware of her pulse quickening at the realisation. He grabbed her wrist before she had the chance to get her hand away from him.

"Ayato kun," she said, her voice small. "Let go."

Using her wrist wrapped in his vise like grip, he pulled her towards him, as she fell on top of him, her breath shallow and rapid. He maneuvered her body until he was on top of her, and closed the lid above them.

"Ayato kun!" He could see the rise and fall of her chest as she hyperventilated, her hands unsuccessfully pushing against his broad shoulders, but he didn't make any movement towards her, deciding to look at her reaction in the dark instead. He knew that humans couldn't see in the dark, so he understood why she was so quick to act against him. He held her shoulders, as lightly as he could, and said, his voice booming in the closed space, "Stay calm. I won't hurt you."

He saw Yui loosen her grip around his shoulders, as she let go of a quick breath. Her voice was breathy as she replied, "How do I believe you?"

"Gosh, Chichinashi," he said, settling down by her side, facing her. "You're becoming pestilistic day by day."

Yui laughed, her giggle barely above a whisper as she rolled on her side, facing him. "It's pessimistic, Ayato kun."

Ayato pouted. "Whatever. Laugh if you want." She laughed discreetly in her fist as he groaned in frustration. "This is why I want you to tutor me. I sound like a blabbering idiot at times."

Yui was silenced by the sincerity in his voice. "Is it?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, his voice sounding too immature for his liking.

"But Ayato kun told me that day that he didn't want me to tutor him?" She rested her head on the palm of her hand, waiting for a response.

He gave her a particular look, sure that she couldn't see him in the pitch blackness of the iron maiden, then rolled over, away from her. She gingerly touched his firm shoulder. "Ayato kun?"

"What?" He needed some well-deserved sleep as the sun was about to rise.

"If I give you takoyaki tomorrow, will you study with me?"

Ayato pouted, thinking about her warm hand against his shoulder, and turned towards her. "Chicken teriyaki?"

"Whatever you say."

He giggled, and trapped her hand against his shoulder, bringing her close to him. "Stay for tonight."

She hesitated, but nodded, and Ayato found the hollow of her neck, nestling his head against it softly, as she wrapped him in her lithe arms, skin against skin, as he inhaled her honeysuckle scent. Calming down a bit, he drifted to sleep, mildly aware that Yui tucked his head under her chin, pressing him closer to her body.


	16. Chapter 16

Subaru looked from the tower towards the gate that led to the mansion. His hands felt the stone wall chip away at his touch as he dug his nails into the window, his bracelet catching the glint of an obscure lamp far away from the tower, his eyes meandering from the path that led to the tower to the meadow that faced the left side of the mansion. His heart stayed silent as he heard his mother beckon him from behind. "Nii sama?"

He turned around, his mother's hands wrapped around the iron bars, a look of bewilderment in her eyes. He stepped close to her, placing his hands over hers, loving the soft touch of his mother, imagining what would have been the scenario had she been healthy. Her bony fingers prodded against his palm, as she rested her head on his closed fist.

"You might not get to see him for a while, mother." He placed his head on her fingers, kissing her knuckles. She sobbed a bit, her luscious white hair moving with the wind.

Karlheinz had probably never bothered to look after his surviving wife while he presided in the demon world. Feelings of anger and disgust overcame Subaru as he saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows. Mismatched eyes looked at him, glowing in the dark, as the dark figure stepped in, dissipating dust from the stream of light illuminating the cell.

"Subaru kun," Kou said, his voice oddly cheerful. "What a surprise to see you here. Your mother must be glad to see you once every ten years."

"I'll stab the other eye out if you act so high and mighty around me."

"Aww, don't act so closed off," Kou said, as Subaru saw his mother back away from the blond vampire, saying, "This is the spawn of Satan!"

"Now I get where you get your bipolarity from." Kou must have meant it as a joke, but the words stung deep into Subaru's heart, as he barked at Kou, turning towards him, "I'll kill you!"

"You can, after we get through what Reiji has in store for us, Subaru kun."

* * *

Ayato stared at the equations written on the sheet of paper before him, as his attention oscillated between Yui and the books beside them, trying hard to focus.

It was hard because he had to think through the problem first. She'd promised him takoyaki if he solved this last question without her help, but he was stuck at it. And why did she have to put her hair up in a bun like that? Her neck was exposed, and he only had two things on his mind whenever he looked up to see her staring back at him, her hands crossed on her chest as though knowing he wasn't particularly amused with this exercise.

Should I kiss her neck or bite down on it?

"I can give a hint, if you want," she offered, her eyes now fixed on the book she had been assigned for reading. She was sitting on her bed, her shorts riding up further on her thighs, The Diary of Anne Frank on her lap, and her damn hair twisted up in a bun. She'd stuffed two earbuds in her ears as Ayato had started complaining that she'd given him a difficult assignment, a soft voice singing some old songs, drowning out his whining. Ayato was lying on his stomach, his red hoodie too hot for him. He forced himself to focus on the last problem. He wasn't ready to give up on this one.

"Why are we finding out ages of fathers and sons? Don't we have better things to do?" He flipped through the previous solutions he had jotted down, hoping the answer would be written miraculously on the blank page once he revisited it.

"Ayato kun," Yui warned, and Ayato went back to pretending to write some gibberish on the paper. He looked at her in between his struggle to decipher the problem, and saw her bobbing her head to the song, her deft fingers flipping the page, and he found his stare following the curve of her collar bone, imagining what sound might escape her rosy lips when he marks her mercilessly there, holding her hands above her head, ripping her clothes off her one by one-

He buried his red face into his hands, not believing he'd been embarrassed by such thoughts. He just wanted to melt into a puddle and disappear from the face of the earth. Fucking no tits girl made him this nervous wreck.

"Ayato kun?" she looked at him, plucking her earbuds from her ears, his attention now drawn again towards her bare neck. She tilted her head to her side, a bit surprised. "You look like you just choked on something."

"Mind your own business." He didn't how harsh his words sounded. He just wanted to rip her into shreds for making him feel things he didn't want to.

She did look a bit offended, but didn't react to him. He wanted her to fire back some awful comment at him. He'd at least get some excuse to overpower her and fucking rip the assignment to pieces as he pounded into her, making love to her-

He sat up, facing away from her.

This whole idea was bullshit. Yui and her fucking takoyaki with chicken teriyaki. He couldn't handle the sexual tension, but he absolutely hurt inside seeing her oblivious to the effect she had on him. He should have waited till they were in school at least. The school library had plenty of space for them to sit in peace and study. He wanted to just sit in silence with her as they tackled through math problems for once. He'd thought spending time with her would ease his longing a bit, but now that he had crossed that threshold, he wanted to do more, be more to her. He scribbled the first few steps of the solution before he became aware of Yui's warm breath over the nape of his neck. She leaned over on him; her earbuds close enough for him to hear the song in her mp3 playing a cheerful melody.

"I think you need to multiply it by 3 on both sides to proceed." She takes his pen from his sweaty hands, her thin fingers slowly prying it from his death grasp and marking 3 on both the sides of the equation.

He took in a shaking breath, her honeysuckle sending waves of pleasure through his body. He snatched the pen from her, and finished the solution, writing the value of x and underlining. "Whatever. I want the takoyaki ready, I did the work."

She ruffled his hair, and said, "Good boy!"

He slapped her hand away and pouted. She smiled at him and went back to her book. Damn, only if he had caught her by the hand and stole a little kiss. Now that would have been a real fantasy for him. He turned to her, his head cocked to a side as he spoke, "You listen to sissy songs."

She raised her eyebrows. Looking up from her book, she said, "You seem irritated, Ayato kun."

How dare her comment on him being irritated. He'd held down the urge to push her on the bed and fuck the daylights out of her, and she had to poke a finger at his ego once again.

She smiled and went back to her reading, as he lifted himself up from her bed. "Chichinashi." His voice was hasty and urgent. "Ta-ko-ya-ki."

She shut her book and tossed it out of her lap. He found his gaze lingering there, wondering how she'll taste there.

"You're a child, Ayato kun," she climbed off the bed, slipping on her sandals as she looked at him, confused.

"What?" he asked, forcing himself to look up at her.

"You look at me weird."

He knotted his eyebrows. She was that dumb.

"Don't bother about it," he said, crossing his arms, and choosing to stare at the ground instead. She gave him a confused look, and turning around so he had the perfect view of her ass. Damn, he smiled to himself as she rushed out of the room. He thought of giving her a bit of helping hand. He walked in ease out of the room, even though the thought of staying in her proximity made his heart start up with excitement.

* * *

Laito rested his head against the window ledge, looking at the human girl rush towards the kitchen, Ayato following behind her like a loyal guard dog. Even though Laito clearly lusted for the petite blond-haired girl's body, he saw some rationality in Ayato's actions. When you start to feel too much for your blood source, there was little others could do to pull you back up. He smiled as he saw them both brush up against each other, Ayato arguing with her as she prepared batter for something. Ayato had a knack for making people dance on his tunes, whether they liked it or not. Reiji came up from behind him, almost scaring him.

"Jeez Reiji, you're a creep."

"Says who?" Reiji pushed his glasses back, his glove on his left hand as always. "Last time I checked; I don't derive sexual gratification from animal documentaries."

"That was once," Laito said, dismissing the argument.

"Nevertheless, I came here to tell you about the plan. In detail."

Laito stole a glance at the couple below, obviously enjoying their time. He felt a bit of jealousy as Ayato clasped his fingers around Yui's tawny arms, and she let him drag her to the stove. Yui looked livelier and more vivacious, as though some new energy had made home in her heart. Laito looked at Reiji's stern expression.

"Let me guess, you're going to punish them for coming late yesterday?"

"It's necessary." Reiji held his usual air of no nonsense around him. "Once you let these insolents do whatever they want, they'll just go ahead and betray you."

"Who would want to stay with you anyway?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Laito said, letting Reiji take the lead. "You first."


	17. Chapter 17

Kanato looked at the teddy bear in his arms, his childlike innocence spilling out of his eyes as he burst into tears. Reiji patted his head, looking at Shu. Kanato was a bit confused as well as elated. He did not feel Teddy's soul inside the plush, but was reminded of the past with his teddy, he remembered tying an eye patch when Teddy lost his eye in a satanic ritual. Kanato buried his nose into the bear's fur, inhaling its scent to his heart's content. His hands patted the underside of the toy's belly, and then they were fishing out an eye patch out of his pocket, buckling it around the bear's skull.

"Where did you get that from?" Shu asked, genuinely surprised.

"I keep spares with me." Kanato said, looking at Reiji, his eyes still wet. "Thank you, Reiji."

Reiji exhaled in approval. He didn't know exactly how to answer Kanato's gratitude. "The demon is still not possessing it."

Kanato tilted his head to his side, hugging the teddy closer to him. He wanted to feel every bit of his favourite toy to compensate for the time lost between them. "I will take care of that." Turning towards Shu, who was standing at the door of the library, he said, "Shu, you only want to summon the soul, right?"

Shu said, his hand resting on his hip. "Yes. We've thought of a vessel."

Kanato knotted his eyebrows, appearing concerned. "I don't think any ordinary human will be able to bear the brunt of a resurrected soul."

Shu smiled in response.

Kanato shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Follow me," Kanato said, disappearing from the library and entering into his room. Shu and Reiji followed soon after. Reiji's nose puckered at the smell of death and candy in the same room. Kanato looked at him, giving him a sour look. Usually Reiji didn't care how the brothers kept their rooms. Kanato was visibly offended.

Kanato's room had a purple themed room, decorated with knick knacks in the form of teddy bears, dolls, model carousels, candy boxes and a huge pony by the side of his coffin. He had a red carpet covering the floor beneath them, and periwinkle curtains covering the French window opposite to the bed. Jars upon jars of glitter were kept by his bed stand, and Reiji must have been stumped as to what purpose they served. Scattered over the floor were numerous soft toys, a ladybug plushie peeking out from the edge of his bed, a little figurine of a cat with its paw raised lay near their feet. An array of pretty little dolls was arranged on a shelf nailed to the wall. They looked hyper realistic, with their shiny marble eyes and blushing cheeks. In places where Kanato had forgotten to wax, he could see skin peeling off. He had to repair his little darlings soon. Kanato favoured pastel, muted tones to decorate his room, and it was evidently a bit jarring for Shu.

Kanato kicked one of the corners of the carpet, generating a dust cloud. Kicking it again, he uncovered some etchings in the wooden flooring, looking like a pentagram enclosed in two big circles, and the space between each line was filled with ancient languages and weird drawings. He rolled the carpet off to show Reiji and Shu the weird symbol, spanning about five by five foot, faded with time and disuse.

Kanato didn't really practice rituals very often, but he did know his way around them. Cordelia had been kind enough to teach him the basics, and they did try to revive one of Cordelia's past lovers once. Kanato was obsessed with macabre ever since then, but it tied to a trauma too deep for Kanato to revisit. He found comfort in behaving like a kid, just because he had lost a lot of time of his childhood because of Cordelia. It was like constantly living in a nostalgic dream, his hand constantly reaching out to a lost cause, never quite reaching his destination.

"Will it work?" Reiji asked, getting down on his haunches, admiring the artwork Kanato had scratched into the wood.

"Hard to say. These things are hard to work with." Kanato picked up a candy jar from his bed stand and took out a lollypop, saying, "The last time I put teddy in it, it was working fine."

"How long has it been since then?"

"I did that before our mother died," Kanato said. What he meant was that he killed her, but he didn't like talking about it. None of the triplets did.

"Can you show us?" Reiji asked. Kanato huffed, gesturing to both of them to step away from the pentagram, and placing the new teddy in the centre of the symbol, and carefully stepping away from the pentagram. He then placed a hand on the outer circle, slowly pressing in.

Shu gasped as the edges of the pentagram flooded with blood in an instant. Reiji stepped further away, not bearing the amount of malicious energy that seemed to sweep the whole room. The blood for the edges of the pentagram slowly flowed away, towards the inner circle, pooling around the jagged edges of the scratched form. He removed his palm from the surface. The blood discoloured, turning into a dark sooty colour instead of red. The teddy bear fell on its side as they felt a rush of energy into the toy, almost knocking all of them down on their knees. For a brief moment, the teddy's exposed eye blinked. It was ignored by both Shu and Kanato, but Reiji pointed out, his finger trembling. "Is it alive?"

Kanato merely blinked at him. "Of course it is. I just performed a soul transfer."

Shu pushed Reiji aside, asking in a calm tone, "Can you choose a specific soul, or is it based on a lottery system?"

"Is your soul in hell?"

Shu looked at Reiji, who was going bonkers at the thought of a ghost residing in teddy. "Is she?"

"She was a vampire, of course she's burning in hell."

Kanato looked at the blood, rapidly drying up around the teddy bear, and picked the teddy by its ear. He clutched the toy in his frail arms, caging it in his chest, breathing the scent in. "Then it's fair game."

Reiji looked at the teddy, a bit confused. "Is the soul in there?"

"Oh, no, only demons can inhabit inanimate objects." Kanato sucked on the lollypop, trying to find comfort in the sweet taste of raspberry. "You'd need a soul to possess a living body."

"So, vampires cannot be vessels for the soul?"

"No, idiot," Kanato said, pushing both Shu and Reiji outside. "Now get lost, I need to play with Teddy."

The door slammed shut, as Shu looked at Reiji in bewilderment. "Did you feel the energy inside that toy?"

"Yes, I did," Reiji looked in the direction of Kanato's room, saying, "I felt it flow from the pentagram to the toy."

Shu shut his eyes in disbelief. "That hysteric. He's fucking nuts, keeping a demon that close to him."

"Now we only need the vessel," Reiji said, his eyes daring to look directly at Shu, who squinted at him. He knew Shu was overtly obsessed with the human, and perhaps hated the idea of trading her in exchange of their mother. He'd seen the lust in his eyes as he'd chased after her. Honestly, if Ayato wasn't providing her his protection, Reiji was sure that the girl would have been snapped in half by Shu after being violated by him. Or, Reiji thought in distaste, the other way round.

"Don't look at me like that," Shu said, looking at the floor instead of maintaining eye contact with his younger brother, "I don't care if the girl lives."

"Do you care if the girl dies?" Reiji said, trying to garner a reaction from him.

Shu looked at him, pissed at his insinuation. Now Reiji knew what aggrieved his brother the most. Talking about the death of the bride was obviously a trigger for him. Though Reiji seemed to think that he regarded Shu with an indifference bordering on aversion, he'd be delighted to see his brother uncomfortable, even if for just a few moments.

"What do you need from me, now that I have gone to lengths to bring Mother back?"

"Preferably your absence," Reiji said, his tone gaining a cocky edge.

Shu closed his eyes, trying to shut him out, and plugging in his earphones. "See you later, Reiji."

Reiji watched his brother disappear in front of his eyes, and headed for the library again. There were too many things left unattended, and he hated to be unoccupied. He had to start off preparing for the ritual.

* * *

Grabbing her schoolbag in her hands, Yui rushed to the refrigerator, grabbing her water bottle and the cranberry juice tetra pack, her legs feeling a bit wobbly. She was panting with exhaustion as she raced towards the limo, her bow coming undone with the wind, her hair clips slightly sliding off. She quickly climbed the car, heaving a sigh of relief. Whether or not Reiji punishes her, at least she would not have to walk to the school yet again.

"Being tardy is becoming your habit now, is it?" Reiji said in a harsh voice. He was sitting directly opposite to her, a book in hand, as always, but today, she noticed it. His tie was off centre. Reiji, the guy who was obsessed with being proper and punctual was himself rushing through his schedule. She knew she'd woken up late because she'd been up thinking about Ayato's strangely clingy behaviour, but she didn't know why Reiji had struggled to wake up, and it bugged her.

"What are you staring at?" Reiji said, bringing her back to her senses. She shook her head, and stared at the ground instead. Beside her, Kanato had gotten his teddy back somehow, but she didn't want to congratulate him, for the fear that he would remember that it was Azuza who had burnt Teddy because of her. She couldn't handle his tantrums, and Ayato would become furious yet again.

As Ayato's thoughts invaded her mind, she found him staring outside the window, lost in thoughts. She wondered why he was so quiet after their study session, and why he seemed so surprised every time they touched. It wasn't like they hadn't touched before; they'd practically slept in each other’s arms. Twice. What was changed between them now that was so strange and alien?

The time after their study was tame enough, they were playful but nothing happened of much significance. Still, she found Ayato ignoring her in the afternoon when he woke up, grumpy and sleepless as she had been. He'd even snarled at her when she greeted him. He'd act like a cat sometimes, wanting attention and playing with her whenever his heart desired, and then going back to ignoring her like she was nothing.

Ayato caught her staring at her. She counted to three before he gave a reaction in the form of a sadistic smile. What behaviour from her warranted such a reaction, she didn't know. She did not care either. Her previous attempts to uncover secrets of the Sakamaki mansion had always resulted in dead ends. Why did the diary of her father end up in the mansion, in the same room where the triplets' mother had died? Why did Cordelia take over her body? What happened when she was not in her body, while Cordelia was manipulating her?

What made Ayato come back for her?

Her chest rose with nervous breaths as Laito leaned over towards her, whispering in her ear, "You mind getting a room with Ayato now, little bitch? I'd happily watch you both fuck."

The vulgar words Laito uttered were enough to make her blush. Ayato looked up in surprise, as his name was called out, meeting Yui's gaze. She caught a sort of tenderness in his eyes, before he averted his gaze.

"Laito, manners." Reiji's voice boomed inside the limo. Laito put an arm around her shoulder, saying, "Aww, Reiji, don't be so sad. Little bitch has reserved a place for you in her bed as well."

Yui felt the situation get of out her hand pretty quick. Here she was, being reduced to a mere plaything for Laito's amusement. She glared at the boy, hoping he would get the idea and respect her decency. Instead, he egged on, continuing his ramble, "I believe we've been getting lower amounts of blood from little bitch nowadays. We should start sharing her six days a week." He looked at her, glad to see her getting flustered by the moment. "The last day she can have to herself."

"I'd vote Laito out of the scheme, he'd taint Yui-san's blood for us." Kanato clutched his toy closer to him, his jacket slumped off on one shoulder, his Victorian style ruffled collar peeking through. It had been days since Yui had seen him around, and she often wondered what he had been doing, all by himself.

"Me too," said Subaru, head leaned against the window. She hated being reduced to a mere puppet, but she had little choice in the game.

"Hey, it's not fair that you get to keep the bride all to yourselves." Laito was getting way too passionate about the debate.

"As if you deserve her in the first place," Shu said, plucking out his earphone. "You've ruined my music, congratulations."

"What a massive asshole." Subaru made no secret of his displeasure as Shu tried to join the conversation.

"Stop this tomfoolery at once!" Reiji said, as the car came to a halt. Gathering his wits, he said, "You are the sons of the Sakamaki household, better behave like it."

Laito pushed Yui out of the car, clearly annoyed. His hand wrapped around her elbow, as he pulled her closer, and whispered to her as they climbed down the car, "Would you give me the same attention you give to Ayato kun? I'm sure I can lick your pussy better than him."

Yui felt a wave of nausea rock her body. He was inaudible to everyone else, but the others did get to see her become red as Laito uttered those words. "Laito kun, please leave me."

"Why?" The grip around her elbow became tighter, as he forced her to look up at him, "Why do you freely bleed for him while you have all of us lined up for you? Why is Ayato so special?" He forced her to walk towards the gate, her feet dragging behind her. "Because he is the eldest of us siblings? Because he has the fucked-up personality of a sadist? Please, Komori Yui, enlighten me with what you were doing with that son of a bitch that day-"

Without thinking, Yui raised a hand at him.

The air cracked at the impact, as her hand landed on Laito's cheek. Everybody stopped in their tracks, stunned. Laito lost grip over her elbow, and stumbled back a few steps.

Yui's breathing was ragged and shallow, as she took in the reactions of the brothers. Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. Even Ayato, who's insult had motivated her to slap Laito across his cheek. The air seemed heavy with tension, weighing down in her lungs, as Kanato said, "Whoa."

She knew she was doomed. She shouldn't have done this. She regretted paying attention to him in the first place. The first reaction from Laito, though, shocked her outright.

"Fucking bitchslapped me, right, little bitch?"

Reiji came out of his shock, as he said, offended by her actions, "What makes you think you can hit one of us? Have you finally lost your wits? Do you desperately want punishment?"

"Reiji kun-"

"I demand your presence in my room once we get home," Reiji said, "You seem to be getting out of your standard pretty quick. Sneaking out, staying out of the mansion, coming home late at nights, now slapping Laito-"

Reiji's voice pitched high as he went on describing her unruly behaviour, as the rest of the brothers went on towards their classes. Yui tuned him out, hanging her head, as she caught Ayato cast a gloomy look at her, before proceeding towards their classroom. Her heart quickened as she thought of what would happen if she found out why he'd brought her back, and she feared that it will destroy her completely.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if I'm not responding to your comments. The college has been hectic :(

Ruki looked at his brothers, settling down into the sofa, as he absorbed what Kou had just said. It was too absolute to imagine. A dread settled in his long dead heart, as he spat out, his ribs aching with a dull pain, "Bullshit."

"But Kou confirmed it," Yuma said, wringing his hands. He'd been the worst to deal with Yui's absence, going on rampages every now and then, terrorising humans, being a general asshole. Ruki used to give up when it came to taking responsibility for his brothers' actions, but he'd been harsh on Yuma this time, knowing he would hurt Yui by not honouring her wishes.

Kou looked at his brother with uncertain eyes, as he waited for a response from Ruki. It had to be false. All this while they were thinking that they treated her harshly, reduced her to a mere livestock, while the Sakamakis played their part well. Ruki felt distaste for them, wondering how low could you stoop, dishonouring your word, and your sacrificial bride.

"Kou," Ruki started, but could not finish his sentence. He'd been too reckless in his decision making, and now that she was attached to them instead...

"Ruki," Kou said, placing a hand over his shoulder, squeezing gently. He knew it would be too much to bear, to see her go. But they had little choice. They weren't powerful enough. And now that they had failed the Eden project, they were useless to Karlheinz. They wouldn't stand a chance. Even if they joined together their forces, there was little hope left for them.

"Eve... will die?" Azuza said, leaning on the fireplace, holding his scarred arm tenderly, eyes widened in disbelief.

Ruki raise from his seat, shouting, "No!" His breath came in wheezing, as the pain amplified, "I will not let it happen."

"She is our Eve, remember?" Yuma said, his voice a bit shaken.

Ruki threw the book he was holding towards the wall. The last thing they had in the form of a hope was to see Yui choose her Adam. And if the Sakamakis were going to hurt her...

"We need to prepare..." Ruki said, as he looked at Kou in desperation.

"I've only been informed of how it will begin," Kou said, his hands shaking at the thought. "I have no idea or control over how it will end."

"If you refuse to help them?"

"They'll come after us, brother. One is enough to annihilate us."

Ruki lost patience. "I cannot just sit and debate here while she's right there, living amongst them!"

Yuma stepped forward, scared at the reckless behaviour Ruki was displaying. "Maybe we should just wait and devise a plan..."

"There is no plan, Yuma." Ruki buried his face in his hands. "We'll just have to watch her die."

* * *

Two weeks. He'd been burning in agony for two weeks. A dark place had already formed in his heart, reminding him of the chronic pain he always experienced. Swallowing him, letting him fall further and further into the abyss, until he forgot the concept of his existence, his being. Tendrils of dark, swirling fog formed from beneath his skin, as he reached for the surface. He needed to breathe. His throat constricted, forcing him to take in a big gulp of breath.

Instead of sooty fog, water followed into his body, seeping in through every crevice, into the pores of his skin. A burning sensation was left in the wake, his skin sizzling and wet at the same time. He wanted to breathe. He wanted to breathe. His lungs filled up with water, as he coughed up the same black smoke around him, his feet touching the bottom of the fountain, as he heard a quiet voice in his head.

If you are not the best, you are of no use to me.

Ayato jerked his head up, his book open in front of him, drool on the desk as he had nodded off to sleep. He found Mr. Kurosawa towering over him, a palm over his desk, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Sakamaki, you probably know what you have to do."

Ayato smirked, and got up from his chair, not bothering to look at his teacher while he walked out of the class. The dream was too real, but he refused to show any weakness to the demons of his mind. He needed to be strong, not to let the bloodlust drive him crazy yet again. He knelt down on the hard floor, looking up, bored and tired. He didn't know what he was doing. He wanted to just walk away from punishment while that old baldy taught useless math equations. He needed a distraction, and just when he wanted one, he felt a delightful aroma waft towards him.

Yui's steady steps approached him, as he caught her scent. It made him want to simply tear her throat apart. While one part of his mind told him to stay away from her, the other reckless part wanted to see how far he could push without draining her to death.

She caught him staring, a light blush painting her cheeks pink as his eyes followed her body. He knew what she must have been thinking. He knew the humiliation she had endured because of him had pushed her to slap Laito, but he wanted to distance himself from that fiasco. She was the one who made that decision and acted upon it. He'd been holding his obsessive tendencies for her sake, and she'd brought all the suffering upon herself. In his twisted way of thinking, Yui deserved to be punished by Reiji tonight.

She went past him, into the classroom, without much hesitation. He found himself a bit annoyed. She should have at least cast a look upon him. Even though he'd been the one ignoring her. Even though he'd been the one snarling at her. Now, he thought, that he deserved her ignorance.

He heard muffled voices, as she exited the classroom, to stand in front of him. Habit made him try to sneak a peek into her skirt, but she was quick to get away from him before he could get any chance.

"Can you stay serious for one moment?" Yui said, crossing her arms across her chest. Ayato looked at her, the light from the lamp shining above them dizzying his vision.

"Can you mind your own business for one moment?" Ayato retorted. He wanted her to sting from those words, but she stayed adamant, not moving out of his way.

"Come on, we need to go," she said, bending down and tugging at his arm. Ayato rolled his eyes, getting up on his feet. Dusting off his knees, he asked, "What made the old man let me go?"

"I lied."

Ayato whipped his head towards her, giving her a bewildered look. Yui clutched a folder in her arms, and as she watched him look at her, he saw her digging her nails into the folder, as if that will save her from him. Grabbing her by the elbow, he forced her to walk through the corridor with him. If Reiji saw them cutting class together again, he'd skin both of them alive. This was totally reckless of her. It's not like they could get back to the class and tell Kurosawa that there had been some mistake and Yui did need to attend class. And the irrational part of Ayato's brain jumped at the opportunity to isolate Yui.

Once they were both outside of the corridor, into the same garden where Ayato had unsuccessfully tried to drink from her, he turned her towards him, hands on her shoulders, as he barked, "Explain."

She winced from the pain, and he let go. He needed to hold his reins back. One little mistake and it could cost him.

"I just needed for you to lighten up for a moment," she said, stepping back, creating distance between them.

Ayato rolled his eyes. "Since when do you care about my mood, Chichinashi." He kicked the grass beneath him. "Stooopid."

"Don't call me stupid, you went with the escape plan anyway."

"What am I supposed to do then? Waltz back into class?"

"You weren't in class anyway, Ayato kun. The teacher would have kicked you out anyway."

"Huh?"

Yui was silenced when she noticed his sudden indifference.

"Well... that was the last class..." He looked at the corridor behind them. "Do you, maybe want to go back home?"

"There's time for that," she suggested.

"Look, Chichinashi, I can't take you to the church."

"I don't want to go to church."

There were times, when Yui will act like that in front of him. Usually because of blood loss. Or maybe she was feeling a bit feisty. He could smell that change inside her, as her honeysuckle was overpowered by a deep, tangy scent of blood.

Then...

"What would you rather do?" Ayato asked, his head looking at the inky black sky, the stars looking like raindrops suspended in air. Maybe they will drench them today.

"I don't know," Yui said, her bag in her arm. "What do you think?"

Ayato was already walking when he decided upon it. He'd grown out of it, and maybe she would too.

"Ayato kun..." Yui sprinted towards him, catching up and slipping her arm into his, as they continued to walk together.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

* * *

Kanato sat, lost in his thoughts as he looked at the little dolls, repairing them with wax. He slowly dipped a brush into the wax, wiping it on the edge of the container, then coating a generous amount on the doll's fingers. This one was called Ada before he made her beautiful. She had pretty blue eyes, and he had already replaced them with much brighter, pastel blue eyes. Her golden locks hung in loose curls around her face. He raised his hand to untangle them with his nimble fingers. The smell had become a bit unbearable, which is probably why it was smelling like death when Reiji and Shu came into his room. He brought a lavender spray and spritzed it all over the doll, breathing in the sweet aroma. He wished she could also smell this, but he knew that she was dead.

Turning her around, he picked up a brush by his side on the dresser, and started combing her hair. his hands started to twist her hair into pigtails, as he started humming his favourite song. He could see the part where he stitched up her skull after taking her brain out, and smoothed the hair, patting gently.

Laito's footsteps interrupted him, and he looked up from his task. Laito stood by his door, opposite to him, a grin on his face.

"You're actually a bigger piece of shit that you were before," Kanato stated, being blunt about it. His hand went towards the jar that held little blue hair clips, and started clipping them into the dead girl's hair. Laito leaned leisurely on the door, his eyes fixed on the carpet of Kanato's room.

"And what makes you say that?" Laito invited himself in, sitting down on his bed. Kanato wasn't like Ayato. He didn't like it when people came into his room unannounced. He still didn’t bother about Laito's cockiness, and continued to braid the girl's hair, painstakingly so.

"Because you cannot handle not being the centre of the attention."

Laito smiled still, but it was a bit less friendly than before. Kanato had spoken the truth. It stung him alright, but Kanato never saw the truth hurting him so much.

"Why do you care about her not giving you her affection?" Kanato said, a bit baffled. "She's not on the same wavelength as we are. She doesn't understand our emotions. The most use we will get out of her is as a blood container."

Laito crossed his legs, his new posture a bit intimidating for Kanato. He felt a bit weirded out by his stance. He was sure that Laito wouldn't hurt him, yet...

"Are you not going to love when she's torn limb by limb?" Laito said, licking his lips, his legs unfolding, as his heart started pounding. "Ah, how enticing that would be!"

"If you are done fantasizing, get out." Kanato was blunt yet again, but his words were different in the manner that they weren't indifferent. Laito had pushed Kanato into a corner with his perverted talk, a corner from where Kanato could neither defend himself nor Yui. Because he would have garnered contentment realising that she had been punished. Whether or not she deserved the said punishment was secondary to the satisfaction he would get from her misery.

"Schadenfreude." He uttered the word Reiji was so fond of. The happiness acquired through the misery of others. It was as prevalent in the demon world as it was in the human one. The way people would watch acts of violence, unable to control themselves because they wonder what will happen next.

"Precisely why little bitch would not hesitate to banish us to hell, you know," Laito said, getting up from the bed and standing beside the door of Kanato's room. His hands had deftly placed a worn-out diary on the dresser for Kanato to pick up. "See ya, Kanato kun."

Laito disappeared, but left Kanato wondering about the weird diary that was left on his dresser, as an old photograph jutted out from its pages. Pulling it out, he saw a person in a catholic priest attire, holding a baby with shocking blond hair in his arms. On the back of the photo were two words scrawled in black ink: _Memento mori._


	19. Chapter 19

Remember death.

Yui sat down on the deck as Ayato took off his clothes, piling them up beside her. Leaving on only his shorts, he asked her, "You sure you don't want to join?"

Yui shook her head.

Ayato shrugged. "Your loss." He ran towards the lake, plunging into the lake and shouting "Cannon ball!" as he cured his body up, a huge splash creating waves that made Yui drenched in lake water. She stood up, crossing her arms around her chest. "Ayato kun!"

"Sorry," Ayato said in his usual haughty tone. He splashed water as she ran for cover, shouting at her, "You're stoopid!"

Yui laughed. The stars were shining in the night sky even brighter than before, and their reflections were distorted in the lake's reflection. The environment seemed to glow with life in light of the half moon, bathed in frosty aura, crickets chirping an incoherent melody as Ayato performed breaststrokes, swimming away from Yui, and the cricket song fading away with Ayato. She smiled as she laid back in the grass, looking up at the burning stars, her eyes stinging as she forced them to stay open, sleep and exhaustion overcoming her. He'd be pissed if he found her dozing off, or maybe he'd be encouraged to take a bite from her. She couldn't deal with the pain anymore, the pain inside her heart as the brothers constantly preyed over her. She started wondering what it was like, dying.

She wondered what would happen once she lives out her days. Would she die at the hands of one of the brothers, or would she simply wither into old age, discarded for her tasteless blood and her inability to keep the brothers engaged? Would one of them kill her because she'd become passive and uninteresting? Would they replace her with another unassuming little girl, forsaken by her family and forgotten by her friends?

Remember death.

_Memento mori._

Think of the end.

_Bedenke das ende._

Her mind became enraptured by the words once uttered by her father, triggering memories in her she wanted to desperately forget. Wet clothes, hands slick with mud, hair stringy with lake water. The nun making her cough water out of her airway. A vampire, digging his fangs into her marble skin. A kiss, unreturned. A heart, beating rapidly. Lips touching, a gulp of potion. A single word, waking her up.

Yui.

She got up, her weight resting on her elbows as she saw Ayato, casually floating on his back. It was too dark for her to see, but he was smiling in bliss. Hard to believe he had a phobia of water in his childhood. He'd had his catharsis. Why couldn't she have hers?

She wondered if she could step into the water. She'd get her clothes wet. She couldn't just take her clothes off and risk being ogled at by Ayato, whose eyes seemed to linger on her body far too often for her liking these days. She'd caught his meandering stare seeking places no other person had seen, and she, in some sick way, wanted him to see them. His touch was comforting to her sometimes, despite the cold and unruly aspect of his behaviour. She wanted him to place his lips on hers and kiss the emptiness away. She wasn't sure what emptiness though; her body felt hollowed out, emptied by constant bloodsucking and torture. Her mind couldn't fathom how the breaths she took sustained her at this point, for she felt no heartbeat in her chest, no expansion of her lungs.

She got up on her feet, her hands hesitating as her fingers unbuttoned her shirt. She shimmied out of her school dress, carefully folding it up alongside Ayato's dress. She was left in her undershorts and a slip dress she wore inside her shirt, that resembled a white nightgown but a bit sheer. She became a bit self-conscious as she could see her strawberry printed bra through the thin fabric. This was stupid. She shouldn't have undressed like that. Now Ayato will-

"Chichinashi?" She turned her head around to see him, standing near the deck, his hands resting on the wooden platform. His eyes were glowing green against the dark of the night, his mouth disappearing in the water as he descended lower, his nose submerged now. She seemed to pause in her shock, before turning towards him, her hands clutching the bottom of her shift dress, saying, "Don't mock me."

His eyes were unfocused on her, although she knew he could see her in the dark better than she could see him. His nose came above the water level, as he squinted at her, his chin coming above the water next, as he pressed his lips into a thin line as he lowered his eyes. "Alright."

She stepped into the water slowly, her hands holding down her shift against the wind, as Ayato refused to make eye contact. She was standing on a stepping stone in the water, and Ayato was beside her, on the lower level, his head reaching her shoulders. They stood in silence as the cricket song became louder around them, filling up the stillness. Her eyes refused to meet his. A certain shame overcame Yui, something she'd never experienced. Normally he'd be cracking up about her tasteless underwear and trying to get a gulp of blood, but now Ayato was silent, his curious stare observing Yui every five seconds when she was not looking.

The lake wasn't that deep, but Yui wasn't that tall either. So when she tried to step forward, her foot slipped, propelling her to hit Ayato's chest, his arms locking her in his embrace. His heart began to beat, her ear pressed against his taut skin, his arms holding her waist, enveloping her. His hands pressed into her skin, and she wanted him to hold her even closer. She wanted to eliminate all gaps between them, if possible.

Ayato picked her up in his arms, bridal style, and wading through the waters, went in deeper into the lake. Yui locked her arms behind his neck, raising herself against him, her nose brushing against his neck. He tensed up at the contact. Turning his face towards her, he closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. An uncertainty hung in the air around them, as she closed her eyes as well, her breath mingling with his, as she felt the water rise beyond her neck. The anticipation ate at her heart, wondering whether he would seal his lips with hers or not. Her chest rose and fell as her breaths quickened, her shift dress the only obstacle between them, their simultaneously beating hearts against each other with every breath she took.

Not bearing the tension, she raised her chin a bit, until her lips touched his.

* * *

Reiji tapped his foot on the ground, looking at the watch as Shu leaned over the hood of the limousine, sighing as they waited.

"This is the second time they've gone missing," Reiji said to himself, his hands forming fists as his anger boiled in his veins. "If they are so intent on keeping to themselves, they might as well get out of the manor and enjoy their solitude."

"You don't have to be so strict on them," Shu said, glancing towards Reiji, his shoulders slumped.

"And let Ayato turn out to be a slob like you? No thanks." Reiji scoffed.

Shu shrugged, opening the car door and slipping inside, shutting the door behind him. Kanato screamed behind him, throwing yet another tantrum as Subaru snatched his candy jar from him and shattered it outside the car. Kanato's screams reached another crescendo as he shouted Subaru's name. Reiji turned around, frustrated at his brothers.

"Kanato! Keep it down."

Kanato mumbled something unkind towards his elder brother, as Subaru called Reiji a dickhead.

"That's it," Laito said, his head emerging from one of the windows, "They've taken their sweet time coming here, we don't need to wait up for them."

"You don't command me here, Laito." Reiji's face was stern and hard set.

Laito squinted at him, his smile drying up on his lips, as he retreated back to the car. Reiji looked at the night sky, the half-moon igniting the atmosphere in a cool shade of blue. He kicked the tire of the limo in frustration, looking at the school gate, the street lamp painting his greyish blue hair in yellow light, bringing out the different colours, as he pushed his spectacles back, focusing on the two figures, coming towards them in an unsteady gait. Ayato stood beside him, panting, his hair dripping wet. Yui stood behind him, her hand clasped on his bicep, unable to make eye contact with Reiji.

"We were doing an assignment together," Ayato said, explaining. "We weren't finished by the time the bell rung."

"Save your excuses for later, Ayato." Reiji glared at Yui. She lowered her gaze, as Reiji made an elaborate gesture from his hand. "Get in, princess."

They both climbed into the limousine, Yui sparing one scared glance at Reiji, and Reiji was left wondering what these two were doing so late at night.

* * *

Ruki stood at the door of the church, hating the repulsion he felt as he put his foot on the steps, pushing his nausea and discomfort to a dark corner of his mind. Painted glass filtered the moonlight coming in. A priest was still sitting on a pew, his head bent down as he recited a hymn, almost about to close the church. They never kept open for too late, but Ruki knew why this priest had suddenly felt the need to stay back in his church for so late.

Ruki closed the distance between them, his hands hiding behind his back. He saw the priest raise his head from his hands, turning back to look at the boy. The man was old, his hair a grey colour, tied off in a long ponytail, his skin wrinkled and pale. But the man looked strong. His robes fit him well, and the man kept in shape. Ruki could tell. He was clean shaven, his lips were pressed in a thin line, his grey eyes wisened with experience.

"Father Komori," Ruki sat down in front of him, on the pew. "We finally meet."

Komori Seiji blinked once, then crossed his hands across his chest. "I might be a little lax with the church policies, but demons are not allowed inside the church."

Ruki felt the words sting in his heart. "You went off the grid for a while. It was hard finding you. If only I had found you sooner..."

Seiji stood up, as calmly as he could. "I'd suggest we get out for a breath of fresh air."

Ruki didn't budge. "You would drive a stake through my heart if we exited the gates of the church."

Lines of worry appeared on Seiji's forehead. "I don't want to soil the holy ground with your blood."

Ruki breathed in, his patience wearing thin. He had wasted three days chasing after the priest, two weeks finding information on him. It was only through Kou's influence that they had been able to find the church the priest was at. Ruki imagined slogging through all those days of hard work, searching up manual records as he had been unable to find information on the internet, and ending up with such an uncooperative individual. He almost wanted to give up, before Yui's tear streaked face flashed in the back of his mind, reminding of the torture he had made her go through.

"Your daughter wouldn't like my blood being spilled."

Seiji's interest was ignited by those words. Pulling out his silver stake, pointing it right at Ruki's heart, he demanded, "What do you mean?"

Ruki had imagined a subtle response from him. He got down on the ground, his hands folded, he was literally begging for him to be heard. Yui had gone through far worse. He could handle a bit of humiliation for her. Seiji's stake stood pointing at him, his eyes showing a shock evident as he saw the young vampire abandon his ego. "Your daughter is someone I deeply care about. You have abandoned her at the Sakamaki mansion, and as far as I know, Yui wouldn't see the next full moon if we are unable to save her from them."

Seiji's eyes showed emotion, but it was quickly shoved back, as he managed to pull his poker face. "Get up."

Ruki was yanked by the collar of his shirt. Seiji pulled him up, making him face towards the statue of Jesus, as he spat out, "See that?"

Ruki observed silently as the pastor removed his hand from his chin, his eyes studying the crucified Christ intently. His heart awakened, his mind impatient, his brain telling him to run. This man preyed on vampires. He is going to drive a stake through me as well, he thought. Nobody knew how many vampires Komori had killed. He hadn't earned his name in the demon world for nothing.

Ruki gulped, as he waited for the priest to say something.

"That may be an ordinary statue for you, but for me it is my life. I've killed anyone who has come between my duty, be it mortal or immortal." Seiji took in a shaky breath, as he said, his eyes filled with worry, "Even if it means abandoning my daughter. I would do anything for my principles."

Ruki was unable to control his anger. "For how much did you pimp your daughter to those monsters?"

Ruki was knocked across his face, the blow sending him flying across the first three rows of the pews. He hit his face on the ground, and felt a pain erupt in his nose. Touching the nose tenderly, he found blood flowing freely from his orifice.

"If you dare say anything about my daughter," Seiji said, his tone dangerously low. "I won't hesitate to put you out of your miserable existence."

Ruki got up on his knees, facing the priest, his face hurting like hell, but his mind determined. "Your daughter believed in you, sir. She's grown into a selfless being, as you taught her. But when it comes to her safety, you are turning a blind eye. Facing away from the dangers that clearly are fatal for her. Refusing to help your daughter when she clearly needs it. You do not deserve her." He breathed hard, adding in a low voice, inaudible to the priest's ears. "And neither am I."

Seiji looked at the vampire in fury, pulling his coat lapel taut against his chest. The moonlight, filtered from the stained glass, hit Ruki right in the face, blinding his vision. Ruki felt his breaths become shallow as Seiji came forward, pulling him by his collar, picking him up. "I won't kill you," Seiji said, "But you will tell me everything about my daughter in exchange."


	20. Chapter 20

As soon as they reached the mansion, Yui climbed down the limo, her hand snatching her bag and dashing towards the mansion, without looking back. The sky was cracking with the first rays of the sun, and a crow flew past her, as though in a race against her. Her cheek was scraped with its wing, but she didn't care. Her legs were loaded with adrenaline, as she pumped all her life into the act of fleeing away from them, away from her kidnappers. She'd already made peace with the fact that they could emotionally manipulate her whenever they wished, and whatever she could not provide them, they would snatch away from her.

Reiji's principles and policies were too much to bear for her. She had had enough of his strict behaviour and his awful punishments. Her sense was already knocked out with the kiss Ayato and she had shared. A warm, fuzzy feeling crept up from behind her belly button, upwards, spreading through her bloodstream. She didn't want to stop. She knew the slightest disobedience would warrant an obvious whipping from Reiji. And who knows what he would do once he got to know about what she had done with Ayato. She remembered the last time when she was inside the library, her hot blood spilling on his open mouth as he drunk from her happily, chiding her for being careless with Yuma.

She finally reached the flight of stairs, her feet taking her up towards second floor, while she noticed Reiji as she turned towards the right, her eyes locking with him. He stood there, in front of the gate, his expression stoic, before he finally smiled. His grin was overflowing with a malice Yui had never seen before. Her heart pumped blood across her body, her legs losing their sensation. She was about to turn away before catching him disappear right in front of her eyes. Where did he go? She found herself dumbfounded, not stopping to hide yet not bothering to pick her pace up. What should she be doing instead? Stop before he'd come chasing after her?

Yui spotted a room in the corner of the long corridor, and found a ray of hope. Most doors had been closed and locked, but this one was not, as she caught a ray of light from the open latch. She pushed the door and closed it shut after her, leaning against it, breathing hard, collecting her thoughts. She wouldn't catch Reiji by the sound of his footsteps, but Reiji wouldn't come in unannounced. He was theatrical in certain ways, and preying was just one of those things. She was aware that she was keeping him entertained with her escaping act, and while it would indeed keep him engaged, it would only make her punishment a bit stricter.

She even bothered to latch the door, not that Reiji would be stopped by that little inconvenience. He would simply knock the latch out with his bare hands if he has to. She backed away from the door, expecting him to knock the door right in her face and injure her, inviting all the brothers to suck her blood out of her. Her shoes squeaked as she backtracked, hearing footsteps outside. The room was lit by an old-fashioned lamp, her vision aided with yellow light. She became aware of the tall shadow being cast on the door a little too late. Her back collided with something hard, and her shoulders were gripped by two strong hands holding her firmly. She dared to take a look, as her hair scratched the bottom of his jaw.

"Your behaviour is pitiable," Reiji said, pulling her by her elbow, as she struggled, and strapping her to a chair in the middle of the room. This couldn't be happening, she thought. This wasn't real. Her mind was getting foggy already, trying to distance itself from the trauma she was about to experience, dissociating. That was until Reiji slapped her right across the cheek, and went back to tightening the straps around her ankles.

"I've told you, time and again, to stay disciplined." He sat down on the red carpet, his chin resting on her knees, her skirt being lifted by his right hand. The contact made her shiver. He suddenly got up, and Yui was gagged with a leather strap, her breath quickening, her mind going blank for several seconds, before Reiji smacked her yet again, waking her up.

"Stay awake, you uncultured girl," Reiji got down to her knees, tracing his hand across her thigh, while Yui struggled with the gag in her mouth. He'd make her live through it. He'd leave marks or possibly drain her dry, before dressing her up and repeating the process yet again. She was horrified when Reiji proceeded to take off his glasses. She'd been witness to his wrath whenever he took his glasses off before, and she didn't have very pleasant memories from those incidents.

"Bite down on the gag," Reiji said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The tender gesture was all a facade, as she knew he was going to be ruthless once he started doling out his punishments on her. She didn't realise when he got back down on his knees, and ripped away her skirt, his teeth now digging into her skin, tearing past her muscles, reaching her bone.

For a brief moment, she didn't feel anything. Only the searing hot breath of Reiji on the inside of her thighs.

Then her scream ripped through the mansion.

* * *

Ayato slammed the lid of the iron maiden shut as soon as he heard the first scream.

He snapped the locks on the inside as the screams continued, a mechanical rhythm in the background. It was considerably dulled with the iron maiden snapped shut, yet he could hear her sobs after every scream, even Reiji's taunts after every bite. "...scream louder!" He could hear it way better now, hating how the grating his voice was. He longed to hear Yui's screams instead. His sadistic mind still got excited at her shrill voice peaking at the top of her lungs. Anything was better than Reiji being loud.

"Ayato kun, don't."

Her voice still resonated inside his mind, and he shut his ears, splaying his hands over either side of his face, as if that would stop the voice echoing in his mind.

"Ayato kun, I'm not your puppet."

He shouted inside the iron maiden the sound ricocheting around him. "Shut up!"

His hands clutched at his hair. Yui's screams now died down, probably due to exhaustion or excessive loss of blood. He didn't care. He was just happy she was out of pain for one moment. His mind shifted back to the kiss. She'd been bold enough to make the first move. He wanted to do so many things to her, but his body wanted to do, well, otherwise. In retrospect, he shouldn't have tried to drink her blood when she was not ready, or maybe he should have taken her previous offers. Biting her when she just wanted a sweet little kiss was a sloppy move even for Ayato.

But her lips...

It was everything Ayato had imagined, maybe more.

He sighed, unlatching the iron maiden and flipping off the lid. It crashed on the marble floor with a clang, kicking up a dust cloud. Ayato got up, stretching, before finding blue eyes in the darkness of the room, staring intently at him.

"Shu." Ayato knew he had something to do with Yui's strange behaviour, but he didn't have any valid reason to rattle his elder brother about it.

Shu rolled his eyes, sitting down beside him, as he asked, "What have you two been doing?"

* * *

Laito saw Reiji exit the torture chamber, his sleeves dripping with blood, his spectacles now dripping with thick, coagulated blood. He'd never seen Reiji this messed up after his torture session before. Granted, this bride was acting up too much, but in the long history they had as brothers, this was the most blood drenching, excitement inducing, gut wrenching punishment he had ever witnessed. Her blood smelled particularly fresh and sweet as well. Laito knew fear made the blood smell better, but it was infinitely better right now. Something Laito doubted was even possible by vampire standards.

It made him excited.

"You ever wonder what Shu's reaction will be once you reveal what your plan is?" Laito dared to ask. Reiji was obviously calculating all far-reaching consequences, taking in risk management with what he had told Laito. Laito was not very pleased to work on such a malicious plan with Reiji but had little choice. Reiji would kill him if he did otherwise.

"Possible regret," Reiji said, wiping the spectacles with a white silk cloth. He tossed his blood-soaked glove behind him, and took a fresh one out of his pocket, slipping it on his left hand.

Laito doubted Reiji's intentions. Now with the whole Eden project headed towards sure destruction, he didn't believe in the girl being some sort of salvation for any of them. But what was that person's obsession with her? She was obviously disposable. They didn't need to care about what was in store for her, since she wasn't going to make her choices herself. She had been reduced to a mere finger puppet, to be used for their own sick pleasure. The best she could do for herself was to jump off from the third-floor window, as most had done before her. Most of them were also forced to be in bed with Laito. He didn't mind them not giving their consent. He had made them happy and content, so much that they couldn't handle the pleasure and freed themselves from the worldly attachments.

Laito had tried jumping from the building once. It wasn't a successful attempt, though. he couldn't drive a stake through his heart and be done with it. His body healed right up after he took it out. It was almost like they were being punished for being born as blood sucking beasts. The snake didn't ask for venom. They didn't ask to be dependent on pathetic humans for their sole sustenance. Kanato didn't mind falling off the mansion. He instead enjoyed the short moment of euphoria while falling, the brief seconds of zero gravity that he gained, before being returned to that same miserable existence they all had been cursed with.

You could easily replace that feeling.

Laito cleared his throat, as Reiji started to walk away from him. "Can I take little bitch now?"

Reiji squinted at him, and pushed his glasses back. "You're free to do whatever you want," he said, "Just refrain from killing her or encouraging her to take her own life. Her father is important for us right now."

Laito chuckled. Now was the time.

He walked into the room as he heard Reiji's footsteps fade into nothing, and was pleased with the sight in front of him. Reiji had taken time with creating the masterpiece.

She didn't look... right. Her head twitched at regular intervals, her eyes half lidded, as though drugged and not in sobriety. Her hair had been drenched in water and blood, her fingers curling up and unfolding, as though her muscles weren't sure what to do. As though her brain was shutting down, yet her body was fully awake, and was confused with the lack of direction. She shuddered, her leather gag soaked with saliva, and a hacking cough was buried into the leather. Her skirt had been discarded behind her, and her thighs bore giant rips of flesh, presumably cut by teeth. Stuck inside her femoral vein was a wide bore needle, the sort you used for blood donation. Laito wondered whether she had really donated her blood, but it didn't matter. By now, most brides would have been dead. They wouldn't survive the sheer torture. At least their brain would dissociate itself in confusion.

So she refused to be broken by them.

He got down on his knees, touching the flaps of flesh tenderly, looking intently for her reaction. She took a sharp intake of breath, her hair falling on her face. Her eyes were still unfocused, poor thing. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She raised her head slowly, her eyes seeing right through him, not registering his presence. He cupped her cheek in his hand, and she seemed to respond, leaning into his touch. He smiled maliciously, knowing his touch to be so effective that she didn't even know who he was, what mattered was the faint comfort he could provide her during this time.

They'd proven themselves to be bigger beasts than the Mukamis, finally.

"Little bitch," he brought his mouth close to her gashes. Her entire muscle had been torn out by Reiji. What witchcraft did she possess to resist dying, or at the very least, try to take her own life?

Her reply was more of a quiet sob. Two heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, as she closed her eyes, squeezing them, her bloodstained teeth showing as she winced. Poor mortal didn't even get to shut her mind while Reiji made her into this work of art. He licked at the gaping wounds. "I will fix you," he said, freeing her from her bondage. Her hands lay limp by her sides, her head twitched in a weird neurotic way now. The blood supply being given to her limbs was too much to bear at once, it seemed.

Her white shirt was stained red now, but that didn't matter to Reiji now. She was his little plaything now. He was going to stitch her up. He made sure to leave his healing saliva over her quadriceps that had been torn out, so that the flies weren't attracted to her. Then, reaching out towards the back of the chair, he found some surgical needles and thread.

He sat down in front of her, as he started to stitch. This garnered no reaction from her. The nerve ends must have been frayed from the endless agony she suffered. Her earlier reactions were from disgust, not pain. He derived some more sick pleasure by knowledge of the fact that he had goaded Reiji into punishing her this way. They reserved muscle and tendon tearing for only brides who tried to escape, but Laito knew she was going to flee soon.

"Now that will teach you," Laito said, whispering into her ear. "That you do not get away with raising a hand against me."

Yui's head twitched.

"You've been showering Ayato kun with your attention so much, something like this was bound to happen, little bitch." His voice was filled with false pretentious innocence. "Reiji san has emptied your vessels, but I will empty your mind. I will taint your soul so that when you meet your made-up creator, He will cast you back to hell. You will come back to me, no matter what path you take, little bitch."

Her chest expanded a bit, before collapsing abruptly. Great, even her lungs had given up on her.

But why didn't she?

"I am your destiny, little bitch. There's no use fighting back against me anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do leave comments. I love to hear from you guys what I should improve upon in the story. As always, thank you for reading.


	21. Chapter 21

Yui's eyes flew open. She was back in her room, her covers up to her chin, her forehead soaked in sweat. Her breathing was laboured, as though her lungs weren't cooperating. Her spine radiated with a pain unlike any other. The inside of her thighs resonated with agonising fury. Everything was on fire. Her skin, her muscles, her bones. For the first time in many days, she felt whole. She didn't feel hollowed out. Her hands snatched at the duvet and threw it away. Somebody had tucked her in and she didn't remember who it was anymore. She'd lost a lot of time. She did remember the strange kiss she shared with Ayato at the lake, but everything after that was hazy, unclear.

She jumped away from her bed. Something had leaked into her bed. At first, she thought she had wet herself, then seeing the white covers stain a scarlet red. Was this a strange surprise period she was encountering? The blood did concentrate around the area her thighs were resting. But when the blood started overflowing from her bed, she became confused. What was this sorcery? Her hands went up to her cheeks, and she felt a slimy liquid on her skin. She brought her hand away from her cheek, inspecting it with a closer look in the dim hallway light. It was stained with congealed blood.

Breathing hard, she turned towards the mirror.

Someone strange stared back in her reflection. It was Yui, or at least her face. Her blond hair had turned into a dull copper brown, probably due to malnutrition. Her cheeks were hollow, her eyes sunken deep into her socket. Her face was bathed in a mixture of water and blood. She was still wearing her uniform. What was this? Who was this? Her eyes darted back towards her bed, as her sheets were soaking wet with blood, that now dripped slowly along the sides of the bedframe, a pool of blood forming by the side of the headboard.

She looked at the ceiling, confused. something landed on her cheek, and slipped down her shirt.

Above was a sight that horrified her out of her wits.

Ruki, Kou, Yuma and Azuza, all were hanging on the ceiling, their mouths open, tongues out. Their necks were in nooses, probably snapped as they hung themselves. They were too far for Yui to touch or help them out of the ropes, but she knew they weren't moving. They were dead.

Not bearing the sight, she threw open the doors, running away from her room.

Why was all of this so familiar? She wondered while fleeing away. Her heart couldn't bear to accept the Mukami brothers' deaths. This wasn't real. This wasn't real.

Then, as she turned by the staircase, her eyes landed on Reiji. His expression was appearing stern and stoic, before his mouth settled in a sardonic smile. She was about to halt when he disappeared from her vision. Where did he go? Why was this feeling like a Deja vu? She knew this had happened to her before. She just couldn't recount what had happened to her. The sun was raising as the day dawned, her eyes blinded by the sharp light that hit her from the skylight.

She felt hands grasp her neck from behind, as her knees buckled down, her hands fighting against the death grip of her attacker. A single word awakened her from her daze.

"Chichinashi."

* * *

Ayato sat beside Yui, his hands clasping her tender fingers in his grip as she flailed in her sleep, her torso bound by the leather straps Reiji had been kind enough to lend to him. She experienced night terrors too often nowadays. Her eyes were swollen, her legs were spotted with red spots Ayato knew were from internal bleeding. He had little choice in the matter. He'd begged Reiji for potions and spells and whatnot, but he refused to help the girl in distress. He knew the punishment was important, but he didn't understand why Reiji didn't bother to keep her safe. The priest had given specific instructions on not to kill her. Once the old man got to know what they had done to her, he would give hell to them.

Her eyes fluttered open, fixating on him for a second. His hands clasped her tightly, as he bent over towards her face. His voice was desperate. "Chichinashi?"

Her eyes rolled back in her head, as she lay still, her convulsions dying down. His hands caught her shoulders roughly, as he shook her, trying to wake her up. "Yui!” He said, his eyebrows knotting up in worry. He brought his fingers to her neck, feeling the faintest pulse in her carotid. He felt a pang of guilt inside him, as he decided he had to do something to bring her back from this sudden non responsive state.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, as he pressed his lips to hers.

Vampire saliva is a miracle for humans. In the middle ages, many people used to capture cursed or ill vampires and use their saliva as an alternative medicine. He'd used it twice to save her life before, once when he had thrown her into the pool, and again when she had stabbed herself. Once he had used it to seal her sutures and heal her surgery scars. But this time, he felt something different ring inside him as he carefully opened her mouth with his tongue, slipping it in.

A shaking breath raked through her chest as soon as he pushed through. He hated her not responding to his kiss, and his hand crept up in her hair, grabbing fistful of it, tugging at it harshly. He wanted to eliminate all possible ways of escape for her. He wanted to claim her as his. He wanted to imprint his name on her soul. His possessive side overtook him as he tried to avoid nicking her lips with his fangs. He was telling himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong, but the thought left a bad taste in his mouth, and he pulled away from her, wiping his lips against the back of his hand. Her chest regained the natural rising rhythm. He pressed his fingers against her artery. A healthy pulse flourished underneath.

"Not convinced with seeing her broken, are you?" Subaru sat down beside Yui's worn out body, his stare pointed at Ayato. Ayato looked at him, feigning hurt. "Do you think I care for her if she purposefully throws herself in troublesome situations?"

"You could have discouraged her," Subaru said, his hands finding her left hand, intertwining her fingers in his. Ayato's eyes followed this act, furious, but he held back.

"I'm not accountable for her irresponsible actions."

"Yeah but you didn't mind indulging in her so called 'irresponsible' actions."

Ayato was knocked out by that sentence, as it brought forth the memories of the kiss. Her chin rising up, her shoulders wet with water, her hands entwined in his hair. He held her right hand in his grasp, rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

"Tch." He snatched his hands away. "You don't have any right to tell what I do with her, bastard!"

Subaru rolled his eyes. "Look at what you have become, Ayato," he said, staring right into him. "Fucking pathetic piece of shit triggered by being sensitive about a blood whore."

Ayato breathed, closing his eyes, standing up. "Take it back."

Subaru crossed his arms, ready to incur his wrath.

Ayato raised his hand against his little brother, grabbing his collar, ready to knock the lights out of him.

Until-

"Ayato," Ruki leaned over the doorframe, watching the discourse amongst the brothers with a cynical expression. He wasn't wearing his usual grey shirt and jacket, rather donning a white shirt with a questionable red stain near his heart. Ayato let go of Subaru's collar, casting a disdainful look at him. "I won't forgive this."

Subaru aptly ignored him, exiting the room, bumping his shoulder against Ruki "by mistake".

Ruki looked at Yui's sleeping form, taking in the straps and her pasty colour. Ayato didn't like this man inspecting her. He might have agreed that he didn't take care of Yui enough, but Ruki was in no place to lecture him about taking care of her. Ruki walked towards the bedpost, leaning against it, his eyes devoid of any expression. Ayato watched silently, ready to be shut down by accusations and complaints.

Ruki surprised him by asking, "How have you been?"

How have you been? He had been pining for a girl oblivious to his affections for her, thank you very much. He doubted that the kiss was earned by him in any means. And if he did stand worthy of that gesture, he had just shown what a gentleman he was by turning a blind eye to her pain. There was little he could do in that aspect. Reiji wasn't somebody you messed and got away with. Even if Ayato would have saved her from that gruelling torture, he had no way of ensuring that she stayed alive the following days.

"Where were you all this time?" Ayato asked instead, settling down on the bed, his hands finding Yui's hands again, finding comfort in her warmth. Ruki had fallen under the radar for about three weeks right now. Yui had told him not to come back to the mansion the last time she bade him goodbye, before Ayato couldn't bear them making any sort of contact and jumped in on the farewell, dragging Yui away from Ruki. He felt like a fucking helpless puppy while faced with the idea of Yui liking somebody other than him. Come on, he had said, we'll say goodbyes later. You need to rest.

"You do realise your elder brother is running evil schemes under your nose?" Ruki said, his hands wrapping against Yui's ankle, inspecting for bite wounds.

"The fuck you doin' with those filthy hands," Ayato said, his voice sounding annoyed. Ruki looked up at him, confused. "She looked a bit thinner than the last time-"

"You don't need to worry about her health. We keep her well-being in check." Ayato slapped his hand away. "Wait, what do mean by running evil schemes?"

Ruki tilted his head as he looked at Ayato, his eyes now on Yui's face, drenched in sweat. "Reiji is trying to sacrifice Yui in exchange for getting his mother back."

* * *

Kou popped his eye out with a fork when he was a little boy.

Sold into an orphanage that doubled up as a brothel, he was in high demand for his unparalleled good looks. Especially among the aristocratic people, that involved in sick perversions. Kou was beaten, whipped, cut, stabbed, poked and mutilated. He would get nice things to play with afterwards, and that became the truth of his life for years to come. Give and take was the way the world worked, and he was okay with it for a while. Until the torture grew far beyond the usual stick and poke, and Kou stabbed himself in the eye.

Turned out that he didn't do much to make himself undesirable. Kou was now even more attractive to people who thought flaws were a beauty trait. He struggled to get out of the hell hole he had found himself in. Finally he found Ruki and others. They tried escaping but failed. And while they were dying, Karlheinz brought them back as vampires. He gave Kou an eye that told him truth from deception.

And the past few times when he had talked to Reiji about some plan that would restart the Project of Eden, he had noticed a real, truthful desire to revive the project. Kou wanted to as well, he wanted more than ever to see Yui as Eve, starting a new race of vampires. As his conversations with Reiji expanded over time, he tried seeing him with the eye of truth and well...

Reiji had certainly gaping issues to deal with. Most of them related to his mother, and since Kou didn't remember much about his own family, he didn't have much to relate to.

Until Reiji started to deliberately started to lie about matters pertaining to Yui, and walked Kou into a hole that Kou knew to be a dead end. Kou didn't want any harm to befall Yui. He wouldn't like her being hurt yet again. But he decided to work on the few things he was given by Reiji, uncovering the mystery.

Until he heard it himself. Reiji was going to sacrifice his masochistic kitten, and there was little he could do about it.

He saw Subaru exit her room, brushing against Ruki rather rudely. Kou blocked his way as he tried to escape. "Subaru kun, you know it's time for us to act."

Subaru smiled, tossing him the silver knife, and Kou caught it in between his index finger and thumb. Subaru exhaled. "Finally."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.


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